Dowitchers Get a Second Wind

BirdNote^®

Dowitchers Get a Second Wind

Written by Rick Wright
 
This is BirdNote.
[Short-billed dowitcher, ML 3159] 
There are two species of American dowitchers -- the Long-billed and the Short-billed. These plump, brownish shorebirds are maddeningly similar.  But if you listen to them, you’ll be able to tell them apart. Here’s the high-pitched call of the Long-billed Dowitcher: 
[Long-billed Dowitcher 135385]
And now the low, mellow call of the Short-billed:   
[Short-billed dowitcher, ML 3161]
Those calls might seem unimpressive, but take a listen to the Short-billed Dowitcher’s breeding songs: 
[Short-billed Dowitcher, ML 43995]—lengthy extract]
The birds fly 150 feet above ground and then glide slowly earthward, their beaks wide open, as they’re making these calls. You can hear their bubbling and trilling from up to a quarter-mile away.  
[Short-billed Dowitcher, ML 43995]
At the end of the glide, the birds suddenly fall through the air and then sometimes rise again for another round of musical airborne acrobatics. 
[Short-billed Dowitcher, ML 43995]
For BirdNote, I’m Mary McCann.
Today’s show brought to you by the Bobolink Foundation.
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Short-billed Dowitcher, ML 3159, recorded by Arthur A. Allen; Long-billed Dowitcher 135385 recorded by M. Andersen and Martha Fischer; Short-billed Dowitcher, ML 3161, recorded by Charles Sutherland; Short-billed Dowitcher, ML 43995, recorded by William W.H. Gunn.

BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2020 BirdNote   December 2020; November 2022; January 2025   Narrator: Mary McCann
 
ID#: dowitcher-01-2020-12-16         dowitcher-01