Where do you guys/gals look up the frequency of a bird's calls?

[Steelflight]

Is there a database or something somewhere where I can look up the frequency of a certain bird's call?

[ermine]

Is there a database or something somewhere where I can look up the frequency of a certain bird's call?

What do you mean by frequency of a bird's call - it varies! Most of us use bird sound CDs and compare the sound and also the sonograms from the CD which should be a known good specimen with our recording.

It is a general problem with sounds - our vocabulary for sounds is much poorer than our vocabulary for vision, and it is a general problem in identification of how to get from an observation, visual or aural, to the species that created it. The other way round is settled easily enough using field guides and a bird call CD is the aural equivalent of a field guide.

[PaulJacobson]

What do you mean by frequency of a bird's call - it varies! Most of us use bird sound CDs and compare the sound and also the sonograms from the CD which should be a known good specimen with our recording.

It is a general problem with sounds - our vocabulary for sounds is much poorer than our vocabulary for vision, and it is a general problem in identification of how to get from an observation, visual or aural, to the species that created it. The other way round is settled easily enough using field guides and a bird call CD is the aural equivalent of a field guide.

I'm pretty sure the only real way of checking is by means of published sonograms, or by creating sonograms of calls you've recorded. Published sonograms tend to be limited to reference volumes - HANZAB in my neck of the woods or BWP. I've seen mentioned that one of the American guides (Birds of North America: a guide to Field Identification?) also contains sonograms. As ermine points out most calls cover a frequency range, but the use of the frequency spectrum is unique to each species, and clearly shown on a sonogram.

I received a copy of "The Sound Approach to birding" (TSATB) in the post yesterday (under a week from UK->AUS), and have had only a limited opportunity to look through it, but from what I've read so far, I'd suggest that it is well worth purchasing if you are at all interested in bird calls. Only a small number of the birds describes in the text are found on my patch - Pacific Golden Plover and Common Sandpiper are the ones I've come across so far - but because the record calls are primarily used to illustrate concepts it's very useful nonetheless. TSATB has a rather nice discussion of pitch and frequency, timbre and rhythm of bird song in the first chapter.

[Ceejay2000]

I received a copy of "The Sound Approach to birding" (TSATB) in the post yesterday (under a week from UK->AUS),

Hi,

Maybe I should move to OZ, I ordered my copy on 7 April and it arrived

today. All of 425.9 miles !!! Dorset to Scottish Borders.

Must agree though remarkable book and CDs

Regards Charles