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The male Wood Duck call is a strange high squeak.
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Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) This is a common species around Arenal - this one was recorded at La Fortuna (Costa Rica).
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Here's another example of the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) trill. (Costa Rica)
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This is the"feeding call" of a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) at a Heliconia flower at El Gavilan lodge, Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui (Costa Rica), 6/18/99.
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White-fronted Parrots (Amazona albifrons) in Costa Rica. They are fairly common in this country.
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A large flock of White-fronted Parrots (Amazona albifrons) near Arenal. It is fairly common in Costa Rica.
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White-fronted Parrot (Amazona albifrons)
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Red-lored Parrot (Amazona autumnalis)-This individual was recorded at Tortuguero (Costa Rica), where lots of the locals have made pets of this species.
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Mealy Parrots (Amazona farinosa) enjoy the evening chat session when they come in to roost. Like many flocking birds, they must tell about their day to anyone listening before they bed down for the night. This is one such chat session. (Costa Rica)
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Here a Mealy Parrot (Amazona farinosa) sits in the big tree at El Pizote, near Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (Costa Rica), 6/22/99, and produces various calls over a several minute session.
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A Yellow-billed Cacique (Amblycercus holosericeus) calls in the early morning rain in the gallery of the Sarapiqui at El Gavilan, near Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui (Costa Rica), 11/16/98.
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The beautiful Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) calls are very quiet and very high-pitched (7500+Hz), making them difficult for some observers to hear. They have two songs: one is a delightful twinkling ramble, also sung very quietly. Both the calls and the song are on this sample, recorded 1/17/99 north of Phoenix, with the Telinga mic from only 20 feet.
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The second song is the spring breeding song. This one was recorded near Sedona, Arizona, 5/22/99
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Pintails (Anas acuta) squeak and quack at Peck's Lake [Arizona] in March, 1998. The peeping sound is heard most frequently, but they do quack, as at the end of this sample.
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Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) are beautiful Winter homesteaders at Tavasci Marsh [Arizona]. In this sample we hear the males' flight sound and peeping song as they rocket off the surface of the water.
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A pair of Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) (the Latin name refers to the large blue patch on the top front of their wing) dabble in the pond at Tavasci Marsh [Arizona], Spring 1998. This is the female, who, like most ducks, talks the most and the loudest! The sharp-eared listener will also hear Red-winged Blackbirds, a Song Sparrow and a Least Bittern in this sample.
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Male dabbling around in Tavasci Marsh [Arizona]. His quacks are rather more quiet and reserved than the female's.
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This pair of females (the females do all the quacking) was recorded at Peck's Lake [Arizona]. In this sample you'll hear them take off and then quack as they circle the lake.
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Tawny-chested Flcatchers (Aphanotriccus capitalis) are in trouble these days, and are considered threatened by most Costa Rican ornithologists. This one hangs out near La Selva (Costa Rica), where they are still relatively easy to find. Recorded 11/13/98.
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A flock of Western Scrub-Jays "Mob" something near the marsh one November day. Usually they'll mob an enemy such as an owl or snake, but I never saw what their target was this time. In the same "mob" were Song and White-crowned Sparrows (which can be heard in this sample), Flickers, Gila Woodpeckers and Abert's Towhees.
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I recorded this unusual vocalization of Western Scrub-Jays at very close range with a parabolic mic while they were feeding on freshly ripening Piñon Pine nuts, their favorite Fall treat! They will often "hover" below a pine cone and extract the nuts from below, and they gather in large numbers when an area of Piñons is ripening. This is a sound I heard several individuals make, and it's almost as if they're talking with their mouths full! (No manners, those Jays!)
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Surely the most impressive parrot (and possibly the most impressive bird in Costa Rica is the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao). Unfortunately, their breeding is now pretty much restricted to Carara and possibly a few sites in the Carribbean lowlands. These were recorded in Carara Biological Preserve (Costa Rica), 11/98.
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Three female Black-Chinned Hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri) "argue" over who gets to use which station at the feeder. Recorded 6/14/97 in my back yard.
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A male Black-Chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) vocalizes as he feeds. Note the sound of the "hum" from his wings. Analysis of this hum indicates his wingbeat frequency is 51 beats per second!