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At the close of a summer day, the songbirds go silent. As if on cue, the birds of the night make their voices known. In an Eastern woodland, the eerie trills and whinnies of an Eastern Screech-Owl are among the first sounds of the night. Meanwhile, as night falls west of the Rockies, a Western Screech-Owl (like this one) calls out. But there’s another bird whose voice will drown out the loudest of screech-owls: the Barred Owl! Pairs may break into a rollicking duet, sometimes called their “monkey call.”
BirdNote®
Night Voices of Summer
Written by Bob Sundstrom
[Song of Veery]
This is BirdNote!
At the close of a summer day, the songbirds go silent. A Veery’s final notes reverberate in near darkness. [Song of Veery]
And as if on cue, the true birds of the night now make their voices known. [Eastern Screech-Owl]
In an Eastern woodland, the eerie trills and whinnies of an Eastern Screech-Owl are among the first sounds of the night.
An Eastern Screech-Owl is petite, standing just under nine inches tall. Mates trill to one another during courtship, and whinny to defend territory.[Eastern Screech-Owl]
Meanwhile, as night falls west of the Rockies, a different pair of small owls combine voices, hooting a rhythmic duet: [Western Screech-Owls]
These night singers, Western Screech-Owls, are found in low-elevation woodlands and deserts.
But there’s another bird whose voice will drown out the loudest of screech-owls. [Pair of Barred Owls hooting back and forth]
These are the rhythmic hoots of a Barred Owl, a large, stocky bird of forests, swamps, and suburban parks. Pairs may break into a rollicking duet, sometimes called their “monkey call." [Barred Owl monkey call]
For BirdNote, I’m Mary McCann.
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Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Adult Male Veery 94386 recorded by Wilbur L Hershberger. Eastern Screech-Owl 20427; Eastern Screech-Owl 20434 recorded by Hugh P McIsaac. Western Screech-Owl Male and Female Pair 109017 and Barred Owl Pair recorded by Geoffrey A Keller.
BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Dominic Black
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org August 2018 / 2020 July 2022 Narrator: Mary McCann
ID# song-09-2014-08-09 song-09
Bob Sundstrom
Writer
Mary McCann
NarratorSights & Sounds
