BirdNote; Dowitchers Get a Second Wind

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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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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.

Senior Producer: John Kessler

Production Manager: Allison Wilson

Editor: Ashley Ahearn

Producer: Mark Bramhill

Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone

BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.

© 2020 BirdNote December 2020 Narrator: Mary McCann

ID#: dowitcher-01-2020-12-16 dowitcher-01