Wild Sounds
Slo-Mo Cricket Chirps Reveal Secret Serenades()
October 19, 2009 The slight differences in the patterns of cricket chirps are undetectable to the human ear, but may actually determine how crickets recognize their own kind.
Grunts And Gurgles Signal Love For Grouse()
September 30, 2009 Every spring, male grouse gather in the Great Plains and engage in a mass act of strutting, showmanship and general vocal frenzy that would put Mick Jagger to shame. For researchers, it's an opportunity to observe how these animals interact in a rapidly changing American West.
Alpha Bison: The Quieter Bellow Wins The Females()
June 8, 2009 Full-throated rumbling and roaring is one of the ways male bison establish their dominance in the herd. When a female runs through a group of males, it often provokes a "fighting storm" — the males bellow, head-butt and fight. In the end, the most dominant male in the group will pair with the female.
Mating Rituals: Hammerhead Bats Honk To Woo()
March 30, 2009 Male hammerhead bats are built to sing … for sex. These bats have huge heads, fluted lips and a larynx that takes up more than half the body. It's all to amplify their mating calls.
Laughing's No Joke For Spotted Hyenas()
February 13, 2009 Spotted hyenas, the social, carnivorous creatures often referred to as "laughing hyenas," live across Africa and east to India. Their laughing sound, however, has nothing to do with their having a good time. Rather, hyenas giggle when attacked or when they are competing for access to a carcass.
A Colony of Screechers And Wailers()
January 27, 2009 Manx shearwaters nest and hatch their young in burrows in sand and dirt. Adults forage all day over the ocean. In the evening, as flocks of parents return to their underground homes, the cacophony of their screechy, whiny calls fills the air.
A Bird With A Catlike Name — And Sound()
December 10, 2008 The world is full of unusual animal sounds — and among the more unusual is the call of the bare-throated tiger heron. Greg Budney, a biologist from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, recorded one of these long-legged wading birds in Guatemala. The bird, he says, makes him "think of a large cat."
Proud Lyrebird Steps Up To The Microphone()
November 28, 2008 The pheasant-sized superb lyrebird doesn't look like much until you get to its tail. Sixteen feathers create a gorgeous pinnacle of lacy white and brown filaments shaped like the ancient musical instrument the lyre.
Laughing Kookaburras Break The Dawn()
August 25, 2008 It's a common sound in the Australian bush, starting up just around daylight: the laughing call of the kookaburra. These birds get together in small groups, have a chat and then go into a full laughter song, letting other kookaburras know where their territory is.
Storm Petrels Fill The Air()
July 30, 2008 Biologist Michael Andersen finds himself surrounded by half a million storm petrels tumbling through the air, and occasionally into his equipment.
