This bird only calls just before sunrise and at dusk. its very loud but i can seem to locate it. if anyone can help me identify this bird that would be great.
i have a voice recording on this link to help
https://app.box.com/s/sp407irmv3m4dtydbqeq4p19jgxh2ykp
Thanks
I would suggest an Australasian Figbird, however i'm happy to be corrected.
Definately a Figbird
I can hear an Olive-Backed Oriole in the background as well.
Thanks so much have had a little listen to some figbirds and i can hear some similarities but this one is quite repetative. its been driving me mad trying to identify this bird so a big thanks again!
Thank you now i know the sound of two birds! Well done.
We had the same call at our place and It sort of sounded like a Figbird but different. I finally manged to see the actual bird calling and it was difinately a Figbird.
Figbirds are remarkable mimics as are Orioles! I've heard an Oriole give the warning call of a Noisy Miner then follow it with the call of a Pacific Baza. I stood and watched it do this and it was really facinating :) The Figbird does all kinds of sounds too, around here their favourite call to mimic is the Pale-headed Rosella. Birds are so amazing!
That brings up a point i have been pushing lately. EBird accepts birds heard as sightings, who is to say it is not a bird mimicing or someones IPhone for that matter. The stats it produces are most likely incorrect and could bring more harm than good for a vunerable species.
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
It's not just ebird. COG and many other surveys incorperate birds that are heard into their surveys. One argument for this is that you will miss things if you based your records solely on actually seeing the bird, because once you become familiar with calls, you will most often hear a bird before seeing it. And then there is always your point of view, which is the other side of the argument. In the end, I doubt either method is going to be better in terms of accuracy. For many birds, calls are quite distinctive, and it would depend on the observer's experience if they include this or not. I for most part won't, except for a few common species with distinctive calls. Data accuracy is never going to be achieved, regardless of if it is proffesionals or citizen-science participants as everyone approaches has their own views regarding this (and counting), and to restrict this either way will get people upset. When it comes to counting, for example. I know some people add up the individuals they see along their walk. I on the other hand, tend to be ultra-conservative with my counts for extreme fear of overestimating- usually sticking to the most individuals seen at any one time approach, except when you know with certainity that the individuals are different (eg. male/female, juv/adult, attending different nests etc.). In the end, I think these 2 approaches balance each other out. the same could go for the inclusion/exclusion of heard-only birds.
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
I count the maximum number of each species, including birds heard, each time I'm out & about. I then take the highest number for the week. Then I average each month's maximum weekly numbers & base my graphs on these figures. The data gives me a pretty clear indictation of any trends in populations & appearances.
Played this sound bite without reading any comments and straight away my 4 year old said (from the other side of the room) "that's a figbird"
amazing
Started bird watching because my 5 year old loves birds. I now enjoy bird watching very much
I think most of the time when you identify a bird from the call you are pretty certain of the ID. Being tricked by a mimic is possible but would be pretty rare, to identify a call you need to hear it repeated a few times which is what most birds do anyway, if you just hear a one-off call it is difficult to make a positive id. Usually it is the pattern of the repeated call that makes the call distinctive eg sacred kingfisher or striated pardalote.