Re: A question of terminology

sometime in the recent past Larry Sheldon posted this:
greg wrote:

I'm an engineer and became interested in field guide design after
using bird song CDs to help with identification. I eventually got a
handle on the songs of local birds, but I expected the process to be
easier.

I was just thinking about bird sounds and what to call them. (I got a "book" for Christmas that has recordings of some bird sounds in it.)

Examples of the puzzlement:

Hummingbirds hum, but I would call that "wing noise". Do they have a "call"? A "song"

Bluejays sound like hawks sometimes, like crows sometimes (usually thought of as "the Bluejay sound"), and they make a bugling, burbling sound which take to be "song". Bur really, among the experts, which one is which?

How do you decide which Chickadee sound is "call" and which is "song"?

Do Crows have a "song"?

The Ruby throated hummers do have a 'call' which is a short 'pip' sound which gets longer when they are 'playing around.' Once you hear it, you'll easily recognize it, or at least I do. The easiest way is to be outside when they are flying and you should hear them when they buzz by.

As for the rest of your questions, I yield the floor.

--
Wilson N44º39" W67º12"
.

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