[obol] Alder Flycatchers in Oregon

[Mike Patterson]

Rather than argue with Wayne I will simply refer those interested to
BNA accounts, which I think most will find more authorative than either
of us and includes the following:

" A sharp, snappy song with accent on first syllable; can sound 
similar to song of Alder (fee-BEE-o) but accent of Alder song is 
on second syllable ( Fig. 2A; Whitney and Kaufman 1986, Ridgely 
and Tudor 1994). Alder pit and wee-oo calls given together can 
sound superficially like fitz-bew of Willow Flycatcher (Stein 1963); 
late in breeding season, 2-note Alder songs, where last syllable is 
inaudible or not produced, can be confused with Willow songs (Campbell 
et al. 1997); even at other times of year, third Alder song syllable 
can be hard to detect (Whitney and Kaufman 1986). “Fitz” syllable 
composed of 2 elements, first slurred upward and second downward; 
“bew” made up of 3 sections: 2 or 3 widely spaced introductory 
notes, a midsection that is modulated rapidly in frequency, and a 
third section that is modulated more slowly (JAS). Fitz-bew vocali-
zation of E. t. extimus recognizably different from that of other 
subspecies; sometimes described as a fitz-bew with a slow, Southern 
drawl. Most obvious spectrographic difference is in last section of 
“bew”: “Bew” of E. t. extimus has fewer notes and these are modulated 
more slowly than in the other subspecies ( Fig. 2B; Sedgwick in press; 
also, see Systematics: geographic variation, above)."



"Wayne C. Weber" wrote:
> contrary to remarks made by Mike Patterson and Jeff Gilligan, there
> are no noticeable regional dialects of Willow Flycatchers in the
> Pacific Northwest, and no "intermediate" song patterns between
> Alders and Willows.
> 

-- 
Mike Patterson               
Astoria, OR                    
celata at pacifier.com  
 
Malheur NWR Photo Essay
http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/mbalame/archives/2007/05/malheur200705.html