Peter,
Yes, I did mean the BOCA CD. I tried playback on a number of occasions, including once when a whistler was in earshot, to no avail. When I stalked the red-lored whistler by following its calls, the I-pod was back in my vehicle.
As a matter of interest, earlier that day I encountered a pair of whistlers calling to each other with red-lored calls, but when I managed to see one of them, it was a female Gilbert’s. I was not using playback at this time. Another birder later told me that on one occasion when he played red-lored whistler, a Gilbert’s came in.
In retrospect, I wonder if using playback when very close to the red-lored whistler would have made a difference. I guess that my experience does not throw much light on whether regional differences matter, but I do think that Gilbert’s can imitate red-loreds, or share very similar calls.
Carl Weber
