Whilst I was painting the house yesterday I heard the alarm call go up, mostly from the Noisy Miners. I looked up just in time to see a small raptor flying over (Hobby or male Sparrowhawk). I tried to remember what the calls sounded like. Was there anything different because it made me wonder whether alarm calls are all the same. We know that some animals have different calls for whether the predator is on the ground, in a tree or in the air but what about birds? Some larger local predators, female Goshawk or Peregrine), would appear to present much more of a threat that the smaller ones so does the call vary or is it one call fits all? David Robertson Adelaide
Good Morning, First raptor over home this morning to be rewarded by a Miner herald was a Peregrine. Leisurely alarm call from the miners, although the bird flew very close to the canopy. The only moderately excited call from the miners obviously due to the gentle rowing flight of the Peregrine. First 2014 bird this morning was roosting Kookaburras in the backyard at 12:05am. Allan Richardson Morisset NSW On 17/12/2013, at 10:02 PM, Allan Richardson wrote: _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Dear Laurie, My earlier messages don’t seem to be going onto Birding-Aus for some reason, but the below is exactly what we’re doing, building on some earlier work, so stay tuned as they say… Cheers Paul On 18/12/2013, at 22:39, Laurie Knight wrote: This discussion begs the question as to whether anyone has done a sonagram analysis of the alarm calls to crack the code. Regards, Laurie. On 17/12/2013, at 9:02 PM, Allan Richardson wrote: I too have noticed the difference in miner calls, although I think there is another dynamic that is going as Eric mentions below. Miners give more leisurely calls for soaring birds at a long distance than they do to imminent danger. I agree with Eric on this point in regard to the falcon’s rapidity of arriving in the proximity to miners, but I’ve also noticed very similar calls when they are surprised by accipiters. It appears to me that there is a definite escalation in call intensity and frequency as a bird of prey approaches. On a related note, there is s definite period of the year (late summer and into autumn) when the birds clearly make mistakes about danger. They give alarm calls for Needletails, aeroplanes and sometime swallows and I think there is a correlation between the numbers of young birds and these mistakes. A period of learning alarm calls and recognising what is an identifiable threat if you will. I’ve definitely noticed a marked difference in call between aerial danger and danger on the ground, such as a lace monitor, cat or human, similar to the vocabulary that vervet monkeys display. The ground call is not the higher pitched call, it’s the yaap, yaap, yaap call. Happy birding Allan Richardson Morisset NSW On 17/12/2013, at 10:07 AM, < Eric.Vanderduys@csiro.auEric.Vanderduys@csiro.au>> wrote: Hi All, There are also different calls for sitting versus flying raptors of the same species. What we hear as “urgency” greatly increases when a Hobby gets off its perch and starts raking the ‘burbs. Mick I agree there seems a very high level of urgency relating to hobbies, and I think this may be because they have a habit of flying rapidly over the suburbs/tree tops trying to flush things. Everything gets very suddenly scared. You can definitely track a Hobby by listening to the wave of alarm calls and fleeing birds. If the hobby is below the tree/roof tops, and you can’t see it, look for the lorikeets flying above it, and the pied butchebirds going up and down, dive bombing, as it passes thtrough their territory. Also, not only miners, but many other species have different bird calls for different raptor species – ones that I’ve observed regularly enough to be sure of this include BF honeyeaters (honorary miners anyway), various Melithreptus (esp. white-throated honeyeaters), drongos, woodswallows, swallows, fork-tailed swifts, little friarbirds, grey, pied and BB butherbirds. I’m sure there’s more I’ve forgotten. Most species recognise other species’ alarm calls I think, and respond/join in accordingly. Peaceful doves seem especially challenged though in this respect and hence the regularity on hobby’s menu. Great topic, a favourite of mine. Regards, Eric Vanderduys Technical Officer CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences Phone: +61 7 4753 8529 | Fax: +61 7 4753 8600 | Mobile: 0437 330 961 eric.vanderduys@csiro.au eric.vanderduys@csiro.au> | http://www.csiro.au | http://www.csiro.au/people/Eric.Vanderduys.html Address: CSIRO, PMB PO, Aitkenvale, Qld 4814. Deliveries: CSIRO, ATSIP, Bld 145 James Cook Drive, James Cook University Douglas Campus, Townsville Qld 4814, AUSTRALIA —–Original Message—– ] On Behalf Of Mick Roderick Sent: Tuesday, 17 December 2013 8:49 AM I totally agree with Stephen and have been trying to nut this out at home. Here at Shortland (on the edge of Hexham Swamp, Hunter Estuary, NSW) we are blessed with a good variety of raptors. I have had 18 species fly over my house during the past 12 months (I work from home so spend a lot of time here!). We are also “blessed” with an uber-aggressive mob of Noisy Miners (I have seen them near-kill a White Ibis and have brought egrets down to the ground). As Stephen says, one can tell which type of raptor is approaching by the pitch and ‘urgency’ of the Noisy Miner alarm calls. The most frantic calls occur when an Accipiter approaches (less so for a Grey Gos), followed by Hobby, Peregrine then maybe other falcons. The Hobby can really get the neighbourhood going though and is possibly the only bird that causes every antenna-perched pigeon to leave their perches in a panic. You can almost track a Hobby by listening to the wave of alarm calls and fleeing birds. I was first alerted to this (pardon the pun) by when my first Little Eagle flew over the house. The alarm was completely different to any of the others I had heard and sure enough, a ‘different’ raptor appeared. They do not bother sounding off at Whistling Kites and only do so at Black Kites because they’re a rare visitor here. The alarm for Corvids (there are resident Aussie Ravens and Torresian Crows here) is completely different. It’s hardly an ‘alarm’ at all but is that relentless ‘near near near’ that Noisy Miners are famous for. It’s probably the same for the cuckoos. Mick On Tuesday, 17 December 2013 9:25 AM, Shirley Cook < shirleycook@skymesh.com.aushirleycook@skymesh.com.au> wrote: DEar all Here is a very interesting comment from Stephen Debus. Shirley Cook —– Original Message —– Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 5:31 PM Hi Shirley, I’m convinced that Noisy Miners can tell the difference between, for example, a Brown Goshawk and a falcon (Black or Peregrine), and that differences in their alarm calls (e.g. the ‘urgency’) reflect which species they’re concerned about, and how much. I can now predict pretty accurately, on the basis of the miners’ calls, which raptor (or category of raptor danger, e.g. goshawk, Little Eagle or Brown Falcon, vs Black or Peregrine Falcon) to expect to see in the air when the alarm goes up. At least, that holds for a site I regularly visit for raptors where there are lots of miners. (The miners also know one another’s individual voices and know who is calling, about what, as established by researchers in Zoology at UNE). Cheers, Steve At 05:08 PM 16/12/13, you wrote: Anything to add?? Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 12:15 PM David, I posted on this subject several years ago. I used to have an office overlooking bush and at about tree top level. I often heard Noisy Miner alarm calls and can confirm that they do indeed have different alarm calls for different situations. I initially thought that they had different calls for different raptors but continued observation led me to believe that the calls varied according to the proximity and degree of urgency of the perceived threat. Paul Osborn Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 9:38 AM Whilst I was painting the house yesterday I heard the alarm call go up, mostly from the Noisy Miners. I looked up just in time to see a small raptor flying over (Hobby or male Sparrowhawk). I tried to remember what the calls sounded like. Was there anything different because it made me wonder whether alarm calls are all the same. We know that some animals have different calls for whether the predator is on the ground, in a tree or in the air but what about birds? Some larger local predators, female Goshawk or Peregrine), would appear to present much more of a threat that the smaller ones so does the call vary or is it one call fits all? David Robertson Adelaide —– No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG – http://www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4259 / Virus Database: 3658/6925 – Release Date: 12/16/13 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr Paul G. McDonald paul.mcdonald@une.edu.aupaul.mcdonald@une.edu.au> Lab webpage: http://tinyurl.com/AvBehavEcolLab Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science University of New England Armidale NSW 2351 Australia Ph: +612 6773 3317 Fax: +612 6773 3814 Google Scholar: http://tinyurl.com/scholar-google-pgm University of New England: CRICOS 00003G ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This discussion begs the question as to whether anyone has done a sonagram analysis of the alarm calls to crack the code. Regards, Laurie. On 17/12/2013, at 9:02 PM, Allan Richardson wrote:
I too have noticed the difference in miner calls, although I think there is another dynamic that is going as Eric mentions below. Miners give more leisurely calls for soaring birds at a long distance than they do to imminent danger. I agree with Eric on this point in regard to the falcon’s rapidity of arriving in the proximity to miners, but I’ve also noticed very similar calls when they are surprised by accipiters. It appears to me that there is a definite escalation in call intensity and frequency as a bird of prey approaches. On a related note, there is s definite period of the year (late summer and into autumn) when the birds clearly make mistakes about danger. They give alarm calls for Needletails, aeroplanes and sometime swallows and I think there is a correlation between the numbers of young birds and these mistakes. A period of learning alarm calls and recognising what is an identifiable threat if you will. I’ve definitely noticed a marked difference in call between aerial danger and danger on the ground, such as a lace monitor, cat or human, similar to the vocabulary that vervet monkeys display. The ground call is not the higher pitched call, it’s the yaap, yaap, yaap call. Happy birding Allan Richardson Morisset NSW On 17/12/2013, at 10:07 AM, < Eric.Vanderduys@csiro.au> wrote:
While generally agreeing with most of the comments re. the response to raptors and other predators by Noisy Miners my experience at Coutts Crossing, north coast NSW, is slightly different, at least in the order that the more urgent calls are used. By far the most strident and high pitched urgent calls are used when a falcon, either a Peregrine or a Hobby, is on the hunt, either quite low or at some height. Goshawks and Collared Sparrowhawks are mobbed incessantly by the Miners, along with Blue-faced Honeyeaters, Magpie-larks, Grey Butcherbirds etc. but the calls are not as excited or urgent, however when the perched Accipiter takes off it is pursued by its tormentors and the Miners increase the urgency, pitch etc of their calls but nowhere to the extent of the calls used for the falcons. A pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles soaring at some height elicits another type of alarm call which is less urgent/agitated than the other two. I am glad that Paul McDonald is researching this topic as I hope that he will develop a standard way of describing the calls as I am struggling to be coherent!! Alarm calls used for snakes and possums are similar to those used for perched Accipiters but there may be subtle differences which are not apparent to the casual observer (me). Regards Greg Dr Greg. P. Clancy Ecologist and Birding-wildlife Guide | PO Box 63 Coutts Crossing NSW 2460 | 02 6649 3153 | 0429 601 960 http://www.gregclancyecologistguide.com http://gregswildliferamblings.blogspot.com.au/ —–Original Message—– Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 9:49 AM I totally agree with Stephen and have been trying to nut this out at home. Here at Shortland (on the edge of Hexham Swamp, Hunter Estuary, NSW) we are blessed with a good variety of raptors. I have had 18 species fly over my house during the past 12 months (I work from home so spend a lot of time here!). We are also “blessed” with an uber-aggressive mob of Noisy Miners (I have seen them near-kill a White Ibis and have brought egrets down to the ground). As Stephen says, one can tell which type of raptor is approaching by the pitch and ‘urgency’ of the Noisy Miner alarm calls. The most frantic calls occur when an Accipiter approaches (less so for a Grey Gos), followed by Hobby, Peregrine then maybe other falcons. The Hobby can really get the neighbourhood going though and is possibly the only bird that causes every antenna-perched pigeon to leave their perches in a panic. You can almost track a Hobby by listening to the wave of alarm calls and fleeing birds. I was first alerted to this (pardon the pun) by when my first Little Eagle flew over the house. The alarm was completely different to any of the others I had heard and sure enough, a ‘different’ raptor appeared. They do not bother sounding off at Whistling Kites and only do so at Black Kites because they’re a rare visitor here. The alarm for Corvids (there are resident Aussie Ravens and Torresian Crows here) is completely different. It’s hardly an ‘alarm’ at all but is that relentless ‘near near near’ that Noisy Miners are famous for. It’s probably the same for the cuckoos. Mick
G’day all New Holland Honeyeaters in my home and office gardens have at least two distinct alarm calls that I can decipher. One is for raptors (also marauding Magpies and Kookaburras). The other (I can hear it as I type) is for cats and snakes on the ground. I was interested in the lack of alarm calls when I lived in a leafy neighborhood in Tanzania recently. None of the resident species (as far as I could tell) would sound the alarm when one of the numerous raptor species popped in for a visit. The first I knew was when the garden suddenly went totally quiet. Cheers Steve Clark Hamilton, Vic On Tue, Dec 17, 2013 at 10:07 AM, < Eric.Vanderduys@csiro.au> wrote:
I totally agree with Stephen and have been trying to nut this out at home. Here at Shortland (on the edge of Hexham Swamp, Hunter Estuary, NSW) we are blessed with a good variety of raptors. I have had 18 species fly over my house during the past 12 months (I work from home so spend a lot of time here!). We are also “blessed” with an uber-aggressive mob of Noisy Miners (I have seen them near-kill a White Ibis and have brought egrets down to the ground). As Stephen says, one can tell which type of raptor is approaching by the pitch and ‘urgency’ of the Noisy Miner alarm calls. The most frantic calls occur when an Accipiter approaches (less so for a Grey Gos), followed by Hobby, Peregrine then maybe other falcons. The Hobby can really get the neighbourhood going though and is possibly the only bird that causes every antenna-perched pigeon to leave their perches in a panic. You can almost track a Hobby by listening to the wave of alarm calls and fleeing birds. I was first alerted to this (pardon the pun) by when my first Little Eagle flew over the house. The alarm was completely different to any of the others I had heard and sure enough, a ‘different’ raptor appeared. They do not bother sounding off at Whistling Kites and only do so at Black Kites because they’re a rare visitor here. The alarm for Corvids (there are resident Aussie Ravens and Torresian Crows here) is completely different. It’s hardly an ‘alarm’ at all but is that relentless ‘near near near’ that Noisy Miners are famous for. It’s probably the same for the cuckoos. Mick DEar all Here is a very interesting comment from Stephen Debus. Shirley Cook —– Original Message —– Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 5:31 PM
Dear Shirley et al, As Stephen points out we are indeed looking at this at the moment and untangling just how much information is within those calls. We’re about half way and there is a lot going on in the signalling system of miners, information encoded within their vocalisations is on par with other more fully understood systems like meerkats, for example. We’ll know more and publish on it soon, but the calls are far from noise alone. Cheers Paul On 17/12/2013, at 8:41, Shirley Cook wrote: DEar all Here is a very interesting comment from Stephen Debus. Shirley Cook —– Original Message —– Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 5:31 PM Hi Shirley, I’m convinced that Noisy Miners can tell the difference between, for example, a Brown Goshawk and a falcon (Black or Peregrine), and that differences in their alarm calls (e.g. the ‘urgency’) reflect which species they’re concerned about, and how much. I can now predict pretty accurately, on the basis of the miners’ calls, which raptor (or category of raptor danger, e.g. goshawk, Little Eagle or Brown Falcon, vs Black or Peregrine Falcon) to expect to see in the air when the alarm goes up. At least, that holds for a site I regularly visit for raptors where there are lots of miners. (The miners also know one another’s individual voices and know who is calling, about what, as established by researchers in Zoology at UNE). Cheers, Steve At 05:08 PM 16/12/13, you wrote: Anything to add?? Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 12:15 PM David, I posted on this subject several years ago. I used to have an office overlooking bush and at about tree top level. I often heard Noisy Miner alarm calls and can confirm that they do indeed have different alarm calls for different situations. I initially thought that they had different calls for different raptors but continued observation led me to believe that the calls varied according to the proximity and degree of urgency of the perceived threat. Paul Osborn Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 9:38 AM Whilst I was painting the house yesterday I heard the alarm call go up, mostly from the Noisy Miners. I looked up just in time to see a small raptor flying over (Hobby or male Sparrowhawk). I tried to remember what the calls sounded like. Was there anything different because it made me wonder whether alarm calls are all the same. We know that some animals have different calls for whether the predator is on the ground, in a tree or in the air but what about birds? Some larger local predators, female Goshawk or Peregrine), would appear to present much more of a threat that the smaller ones so does the call vary or is it one call fits all? David Robertson Adelaide —– No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG – http://www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4259 / Virus Database: 3658/6925 – Release Date: 12/16/13 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr Paul G. McDonald paul.mcdonald@une.edu.aupaul.mcdonald@une.edu.au> Lab webpage: http://tinyurl.com/AvBehavEcolLab Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science University of New England Armidale NSW 2351 Australia Ph: +612 6773 3317 Fax: +612 6773 3814 Google Scholar: http://tinyurl.com/scholar-google-pgm University of New England: CRICOS 00003G ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David, I posted on this subject several years ago. I used to have an office overlooking bush and at about tree top level. I often heard Noisy Miner alarm calls and can confirm that they do indeed have different alarm calls for different situations. I initially thought that they had different calls for different raptors but continued observation led me to believe that the calls varied according to the proximity and degree of urgency of the perceived threat. Paul Osborn —–Original Message—– Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 9:38 AM Whilst I was painting the house yesterday I heard the alarm call go up, mostly from the Noisy Miners. I looked up just in time to see a small raptor flying over (Hobby or male Sparrowhawk). I tried to remember what the calls sounded like. Was there anything different because it made me wonder whether alarm calls are all the same. We know that some animals have different calls for whether the predator is on the ground, in a tree or in the air but what about birds? Some larger local predators, female Goshawk or Peregrine), would appear to present much more of a threat that the smaller ones so does the call vary or is it one call fits all? David Robertson Adelaide