The "Heard-only" List (1 Viewer)

[Tiraya]

Perhaps my second least favourite list under the "Bogey Bird list", this list contains the birds that, for one reason or another, refused to give views of any kind. Not even a shadow or a blur... Fortunately it is below double digits so far...

Most of these are Australian, but some others here and there.

1. Little eagle
2. Lewin's rail (yep there's a rail on this list)
3. Southern emuwren
4. Crested bellbird
5. Eastern whipbird
6. Grasshopper sparrow
7. Black-chinned sparrow
8. Nightjar
9. Lesser spotted woodpecker (also on bogey bird list).

 

[Farnboro John]

Red-chested Cuckoo was one that took me several trips to get off this irritating list!

John

 

[davercox]

Yep, amazing how hard to see they can be.

My British heard-only list has only two species on it : (Common) Quail and, would you believe, Great Reed Warbler.

 

[Tiraya]

Ah I forgot nightjar. I've heard them on at least 20 occasions, but they just never show themselves.

 

[Nutcracker]

Barred Owl, on a visit to Texas.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

think it's 24, but I'll have to go through my list. Reckon it must be much higher for people who bird a lot with tapes, as I'm sure I've been blissfully ignorant of many more!

Ear-splittingly close Wing-banded Wren prob the most frustrating, as I couldn't manage to scramble up a steep bank quite enough to look over, but heard it's wings whirring as it moved off, and it's a small bird!.

Fork-tailed Storm Petrel also frustrating, as one calling as it came into a breeding colony, but in a swirl of calling Leaches, and couldn't see any differences with a spotlight.

 

[Adam W]

Just the two for me which are probably quite common ones, Quail and Nightjar. Green Woodpecker was on there for a while too.

 

[Jane Turner]

I've got none now, but I do recall a time as a teenager in Cornwall - must have been May, when I was on a narrow Cornish Lane with high banks, with a Corncrake calling on one side and a Quail on the other. I tried for the Crake by scrambling up the bank, and saw neither.

 

[angusmcoatup]

Weka. I'm not sure how I missed seeing one but by the time I'd realised, I only had a couple of days left in NZ and just managed a dusk bird calling.

 

[rosbifs]

It took me 29 years to get Ural Owl off my heard only list and 33 for Corncrake....

Cant think of anything left on it although like Larry (hi Larry) probably blissfully unaware of a few!

 

[Jane Turner]

Which reminds me... I do have a heard only species.... I just don't keep a European list. Many many years ago I had a conference in Freiburg. I had a day off, so took a bus then walked as far as I could up into the forest south of the city. I heard a call which reminded me of a Scops Owl... but higher, and isolated it to a smallish tree. I thought it might be a Tengmalm's Owl, so staked it out. Eventually a small bird - that didn't look incompatible with Great tit, flew out of the back, obscured by the tree itself. The call stopped... and after ten mins I gave up, assuming I'd fallen foul of a Great tit... not for the 1st time. It was only after I got home and listened to Pygmy Owl calls, I realised what had happened.

 

[Trystan]

Not a list I keep track of but off the top of my head:

Quail
American bittern
Little tinamou
White bellied antbird
Stripe breasted spinetail
Spectacled owl

The latter four all this year in Trinidad and Tobago

 

[earthdragon64]

Probably my most frustrating experience with a heard-only bird was Corncrakes whilst camping in Tiree a few years ago.

As we were setting up the tent, I heard a Corncrake and remarked on it to my husband, finishing it with "How lovely".

Not what I was saying by the following morning, as soon as it got dark, a total of 3 Corncrakes started calling round the camp site. Loudly. Very. Loudly. All. Night.

Neither of us got any sleep due to the absolute constant racket and I swear at one point, I could have just stretched my arm out, reached through the tent and touched one, it was so close. At various times I was up looking with a torch determined that if I was awake anyway, I was going to see one of them.

No luck though, we put up with the racket for 2 days and nights then gave up and stayed in a hostel instead and never did see a Corncrake on Tiree.

 

[Bananafishbones]

off the top of my head:

Bittern (and a huge Bogey Bird)
Common Quail
Brown Tinamou - Venezuela
Rusty Flanked Crake - Venezuela
White Browed Shortwing - Mindanao Philippines

Merida Tapaculo only stays off this list due to having to accept a poor sighting after having it call less than 6ft in front of us for nearly an hour before it eventually gave me the briefest of glimpses...... by-eck I earned a tick on this one and it stays off the heard only list. A bugger of a bird to see.

 

[Tiraya]

Added northern bobwhite and barred owl to the heard only list this week.

Temporary addition was grey catbird, but managed to take that off two days later.

 

[rosbifs]

Merida Tapaculo only stays off this list due to having to accept a poor sighting after having it call less than 6ft in front of us for nearly an hour before it eventually gave me the briefest of glimpses...... by-eck I earned a tick on this one and it stays off the heard only list. A bugger of a bird to see.

Sounds like my River Warbler last year - I walked all around it. Stayed perfectly still for long periods but could I see it!! So my only view was it dissappearing ina bush on the first morning.

Perhaps, should have a thread of must see better....

 

[Jacana]

A fair few. Off the top of my head:

Mountain Scops Owl
Oriental Bay Owl
Black-banded Owl
Tropical Screech Owl
Yungas Pygmy Owl
Tengmalm's Owl
Ural Owl
Mottled Owl
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
Band-bellied Owl
Pavonine Cuckoo
Long-tailed Potoo
Rufous-collared Kingfisher
Malayan Banded Pitta
Undulated Antpitta
Rusty-breasted Antpitta
Golden-headed Cisticola
Grey-breasted Crake
Tambourine Dove
Great Iora
Green Cochoa


... That was a depressing list to compile :-C

 

[rosbifs]

Haven't even heard of more than half of them let alone only 'heard' them!!

Should be able to get a couple off the list this spring - Ural and Tengmalms...

 

[Cheshire Birder]

The two species that spring to mind are River Warbler and Golden Oriole (had three heard only records of this latter species including a bird on my local patch).

CB

 

[Jim M.]

Since you need to include heard only birds on complete checklists submitted to online databases (such as eBird), I relaxed my previous policy of ticking only birds I see (except for nocturnal birds and rails). That has made the "heard only" category much less frustrating for me.

But even so, there are certainly birds where hearing is much less satisfying than seeing. These, which I have heard well and close to hand on more than one occasion, spring to mind:

– Four-colored Bushshrike (a.k.a. Gorgeous Bushshrike; found in southern Africa): It is amazing how well hidden a large and colorful bird can stay when it wants to! And they seem profoundly uninterested in coming close to himplayback.

– Great Argus (Southeast Asia): this second largest pheasant loves to call but just does not want you to see it!

– South American Forest Falcons (multiple species): I've been standing right under them and still not seen them.