ML614478314
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
- Playback
- Not specified
Observation details
Continuing and predictable. Red morph with rusty orange tones and white. White stripe down center of breast. Darker orange shade on sides of body than on face. White, not gray, thick vertical lines on face on either side of center orange stripe, between eyes. Eyes yellowish. Ear tufts vertical and unmoving. Whole face was stiff and expression only changed with eyes closing or opening. It was slightly jerky when moving its head. Small - approximately 10 inches tall and 4 inches wide, which was 1/5 the width of the tree it was in. Popped up and had its eyes open and its face looked like straw - very stiff feathers - as opposed to soft, or blowing in the wind. White tie down the front without the bow part. Eyes looked human at first, and appeared as if the outer edges had long dark lashes as it blinked. When it popped up, it had its eyes wide open. It went back to a closed eye position for about 10 minutes. Then opened them and made a couple movements (turning head slightly left, quickly) for a period of time before beginning tremolo. Located on northern path, across from DEP (Murray Street path.) Walking in from the south on woods path, and stopping 30 feet before reaching the Murray St. path, looking up 20 feet at a hole in an oak tree that is on the “back side” from the Murray St. trail. Approximately 50 feet from Canco Road. People walking 20 feet behind the tree. It did not respond to people in general, but it did turn its head twice when I heard a slow soft click or snap of someone putting something away. At 5:10, as I watched the empty hole - it “popped up” - a very sudden head seen slightly receded, down and to the left, and then it instantly hopped forward to a perch that made it fill the hole. It never adjusted from that location for the next 20 minutes. The bird made about 8 tremolos while I was there, getting subtly louder each time. The first one, with throat movement, was very faint and barely heard, and people around me did not seem to notice it. The last (still quiet) tremolo I heard, as I was leaving, could be heard from near the DEP (Murray St) trail entrance, at Canco Road. The frequency also increased, with the time between the first and second tremolo being the longest. I watched the bird as it made the sound with binoculars from about 40 direct feet away. I could see the head raise slightly, as if it were straightening up, and the neck feathers undulated slightly up and down more than out, (less outward than what happens when a Mourning Dove coos.) No playback, no lights (brightest lights were camera screens - glow noticeable from street), 16 people watching, 8 remaining to listen, occasional quiet talking, slow movements and no one approaching closely.
Technical information
- Recorder
- Microphone
- Accessories
- Original file size
- 155.81 KB