What bird(s) sound like this cougar (1 Viewer)

[thebuttelady]

Hi guys, I'm Carol and I'm brand new here. I'm not a birder. Don't have what it takes. I have over 35 years of studying grizzlies and am interested in all wildlife. I volunteer as an interpretive host and get many questions on birds. So I know a little. Thought I'd join and occasionally ask some interesting questions. I've go a doozy here.

Are there any common North American birds that have a call similar to the cougar in this video? https://vimeo.com/201490313

It's a pretty important question. I shared this video on FB last week and the post has over 3,000 shares. Most people are like me. They've heard this call countless times in the woods and didn't know it could be a cougar. Most think it's a bird. It seems like too many people hearing it if it is a cougar. I'm thinking there has to be at least one bird with a similar call. We all want to learn how to differentiate. We've gone through most mammal candidates and there isn't anything very close that we can find. That leaves birds or just tons of cougars. Can you guys help? The call btw is used to locate family members. I've found other videos but this is by far the best one.

Thanks and pleased to meet you all.

 

[thebuttelady]

Hmmm ... looks like birdforum may be flagging this as a possibly unsafe link. Not sure what that's about. When I copy and paste into another window, I get no warning. Anyway, it's vimeo and many have used it without problems. I'll give you the link to the post on my FB page if anyone is nervous.

 

[The Bird Nuts]

Some woodpeckers have calls similar to that, although they are a little more squeaky. Here is a very common North American woodpecker - the Northern Flicker: http://www.xeno-canto.org/297479

 

[Warixenjalka]

My first thought was some Tringa sp or maybe some other Shorebird.

 

[fugl]

How about this (California Ground Squirrel)?

https://www.google.com/search?q=california ground squirrel call

 

[The Bird Nuts]

Northern Bobwhite is another possibility, I guess.

 

[Nutcracker]

What a strange noise for a large cat! I was expecting something sounding much more like this :-O

In terms of birds, what this reminds me of more than anything is [feral] Rose-ringed Parakeet or other feral parrots / cockatiels - and that's something you may well hear a lot in urban parks and gardens :t:

 

[nartreb]

What strikes me most is that the sound isn't very loud. That cat is close enough that we can hear its breathing, and I'd guess the cries are no more than twice as loud as that. (OTOH, I probably shouldn't assume the mic is designed for high dynamic range - should really look at the waveform to see if it looks "clipped", but I haven't got time right now.)

So I'm wondering how it's possible that anybody would have heard that. Odds of being close enough to a juvie cougar seem pretty low.

On the other hand, several species of squirrels, widespread throughut the USian West, have an alarm call that carries well over distance and sounds a bit similar. Also vaguely similar: red-tailed hawk (very common, very piercing) and various woodpeckers (ditto).

 

[thebuttelady]

What strikes me most is that the sound isn't very loud. That cat is close enough that we can hear its breathing, and I'd guess the cries are no more than twice as loud as that. (OTOH, I probably shouldn't assume the mic is designed for high dynamic range - should really look at the waveform to see if it looks "clipped", but I haven't got time right now.)

So I'm wondering how it's possible that anybody would have heard that. Odds of being close enough to a juvie cougar seem pretty low.

On the other hand, several species of squirrels, widespread throughout the USian West, have an alarm call that carries well over distance and sounds a bit similar. Also vaguely similar: red-tailed hawk (very common, very piercing) and various woodpeckers (ditto).

Apparently the sound travels a mile or more from what I've read. We checked out most squirrel sounds (each animal having several sounds) and the ones that are somewhat close tend to be repeated at least six times. Of course the red tailed hawk is pretty familiar because every bald eagle in the movies borrows it , but it has a scolding call that if you combined it with the scream, could be close enough to fool people. It looks like three calls for the red tail. Are there others? That would be an explanation for sure if you got just a little closer. I'll check out some woodpeckers. Thanks.

 

[thebuttelady]

One thing for sure, my respect for those of you who can identify birds by sound has grown by leaps and bounds. Many of the calls mentioned seem close but compared side by side, not so much. I'm thinking it may not be sound similarity as much as it is untrained ears. Hearing a sound on a youtube video and then remembering hearing that exact same sound in the woods many times before may be based more on faulty memories. Lots of sounds in the forest and some do sound fairly close to this, especially when you take into account most people's lack of ability to remember sounds. There are a few animals I've been around a lot and I know their sounds due to repeated exposure. Very few people have repeated exposure to a mountain lion. So I'm thinking now that me and some of my friends need to commit this sound to memory, see how often we really hear it, and try to get a glimpse of the animal making it. I'll report back if we learn something. The area I'm in mow has some cougars but not nearly as many as the last place I was at. I've got some friends there and I'll see if they are willing to help. Thank you guys. Mystery still not solved but I think my theory is improved.