Cheetahs are unusual for a big cat in that they cannot roar. Perhaps the most well known of the sounds they do make is a chirp, which sounds rather astonishingly like a bird. This noise is used as communication between mothers and offspring, but has been observed in some other situations.
Cheetahs can also purr (in cats there is a purr versus roar dichotomy), hiss, and produce a number of other vocalizations. A "stutter bark" unique to males has been linked to the complexities of cheetah ovulation. Vocal-induced ovulation is not common in mammals, so it's no wonder keepers failed to figure out why their captive cheetahs weren't breeding.
It seems that virtually everyone living in the United States is enamored by the bald eagle. However, it's amazing how few people actually know what our national bird sounds like! It doesn't help that filmmakers have, in the past, dubbed the calls of other raptors over those of the eagles. This is probably because bald eagles, though beautiful to look at, don't exactly sound very impressive. For their size, they have surprisingly quiet calls. I've heard someone say the bald eagle sounds like a squeaky toy, and I must say this description does fit surprisingly well.
When I posted about this beautiful species of pigeon yesterday, I read about their somewhat interesting vocalizations but didn't bother to do some searching to find out if I could have a listen. Well, today I checked out the calls of this blue bird. Their mating display, as described in the post, involves bobbing of the head and tail accompanied by a very low, booming sort of call, sometimes described as a boom-pa call. However, since these birds are fairly small, they can't boom like some other species.
Foxes are quite vocal animals, capable of creating a number of noises. Vocalizations are used for a variety of purposes and twenty-eight unique types have been documented. They can be used for interactions with other foxes that are close or far away. Though vocalizations are so useful, it isn't the foxes' only method of communication. They also use visual interaction, such as facial expressions, and all sorts of scent marking.
It's been a while since I've featured an insect in one of these. This time around, it's the cicada, whose call an be heard beginning at 0:15 in the video below.
What you hear in that video is the cicada's mating call and they basically "pop" a membrane, known as a tymbal, in their abdomen to make it. Cicadas are amazingly loud creatures, and if you have a large number singing at the same time it can be quite annoying. Though in most areas you will hear cicadas during the summer, I've already been hearing them for the past several weeks.
The familiar winged cicada adult is actually very short-lived, mating and then dying after a few weeks. Many species are known by name such as 13-year and 17-year cicadas and, amazingly enough, this number is the amount of time that their larvae spend under ground, feeding on roots. After those many years are up, the larvae come above ground and climb onto a surface to pupate. The emerged adult then spends its short life singing and breeding before dieing. The eggs laid by adults on twigs hatch after six or seven weeks and then burrow into the ground for their turn at a long life feeding on plant roots.
Due to the long life cycle of these insects, you will usually see a different species each year. If you pay attention you may be able to see these differences. Some are quite striking in appearance, including a North American species (Magicicada septendecim) with brilliant red eyes and an Australian species (Cyclochila australasiae) that is a vibrant shade of green.
Like the Bobwhite, which was featured in the last CAS, the whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus) has a common name derived from its distinctive call. The "whip-poor-will" call is a dominance call given by males to help establish and maintain a territory. The birds make a number of other noises as well, including a defensive hiss when confronted with a predator. Overall, they are common in their native range, which reaches from Canada to Central America if you include all of its migratory route.
The Northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) is a species whose common name comes from its distinctive call, which sounds a lot like the bird is saying "bob-bob-white!" The first time I heard someone describe the bird, I didn't believe them. Then I heard the call for myself. Though the "bob-white" call is the best known, these birds are actually quite vocal and use a number of other calls more frequently. Though the bird is also sometimes referred to as the Virginia quail, the numerous subspecies actually have a far wider range than just Virginia. They are found all the way from Canada to Central America, as well as in Washington and Cuba. However, the populations in both Washington and Cuba were introduced. This species is currently Near Threatened, with at least one subspecies considered Endangered by the U.S. Government. The species is a major game bird, as well as prey for quite a number of predators. The birds are also amazingly well studied, including their use as captive laboratory animals in studying the affects of pesticides and other factors on wildlife.
I know just about everyone in the United States knows what a raccoon is, but have you ever heard one?
That's what an upset baby sounds like. Quite an interesting noise, in my opinion. These animals are known to actually produce a wide variety of sounds. This is usually various sort of chattering sounds, but they can also purr and squeal, among other things. Just remember, though these critters can look cute, never mess with one because they are known to commonly carry rabies. And don't think they won't bite you, because they can and it's likely that they will if cornered.
Beluga whales are called "canaries of the sea" for a reason. They make a wide variety of noises, and can even learn to mimic those they hear. This Beluga, named Beethoven, has quite a vocabulary.
There are a number of sources out there that have recordings on Belugas making other noises. This is an Arctic species of whale that is like no other in appearance. Born gray, they turn white as they age. Like most Arctic species, they lack a dorsal fin. This makes it easier for them to swim close to the surface under ice while searching for a place to breathe. They are very unusual among whales in that they have flexible necks, whereas most species have fused neck vertebrae. Their prominent "forehead," which is more properly known as a melon, is filled with fat and helps them make those sounds.
When I still had my hissers, I heard them hissing all of the time. The sound is pretty unusual and, when you aren't used to it, can be quite startling.
Hissers are very unique in the insect world for how they make their hissing sounds. The vast majority of insects manipulate their bodies in some way to make noise. A mosquito's buzz comes from the beating of its wings. Crickets chirp by rubbing parts of their wings together. Cicadas have a special concave membrane that they "pop" to make their characteristic noise. Other species rub against surroundings to produce a sound. Roaches are far more like us as they force air out of their spiracles (breathing holes), creating the hiss.You can often see this when they hiss, as the sound is so often accompanied by sudden contraction of the abdomen.
Some whales are far more vocal than others. The toothed whales, such as orcas, dolphins, and belugas are really quite vocal, including using echolocation to locate their prey. Baleen whales do not echolocate, but are still very capable of producing sounds, however they vocalize purely as a form of communication. Their calls are also very high frequency and will only travel rather short distances in the water. Baleen whale song, such as humpback or blue whales, is commonly sold in the form of CDs that are meant to be relaxing. These songs are love songs and are incredible low in frequency, carrying for hundreds of miles. In fact, the frequency is so low that many of the recordings have to be altered so that we can even hear them! Whale song usually changes from year to year, depending on what is "trendy."
There is a fairly famous whale of an unknown species that was first identified by the US Navy due to its unusual song frequency of 52 Hz. Not only does its song match no other whale, but its migration patterns are also strange. NOAA has a page that seems to suggest that the whale may be an unusual blue whale. It's also thought by some that the lonely whale may be a hybrid of some sort, or be the last remaining member of an otherwise extinct species.
I mentioned these interesting animals quite recently, now here's one "singing"!
The hyrax species are actually rather vocal, and are capable of making a variety of noises. I even found a video of one taking on a much larger male baboon and making some interesting aggressive noises. They are also known for making an unusual sort of noise while chewing their food. They also have a bird-like cry that I do not know the purpose of. I can't help but find these odd little animals fascinating. As I mentioned before, their closest living relatives are elephants and the dugongs and manatees. Most of the species are found in Africa.
Today's cool animal sounds are the aggressive grunt, bellows, and squeaks of a male white rhino (Ceratotherium simum).
African rhinos are quite interesting creatures, with "horns" on their faces that are made up of the same keratin that's in your finger nails, and very unlike true horns. They have a good sense of smell and also hearing, but their vision is comparatively quite poor. They like to roll in mud, which acts as a sort of protection from bugs and the sun. Both African rhinos are endangered.
White rhinos are far more placid than the black rhinos, which are known for being quite aggressive. The two species look quite similar, and, despite what their names imply, really do not differ much in terms of color. They are both this sort of uniform gray. Other than behavior, one of the most noticeable differences between the white and black rhinos is the shape of their mouths. Black rhinos have a finger-like upper lip that is better for stripping leaves off of planets. White rhinos, on the other hand, have wide mouths that are almost like lawn mowers, and are quite efficient at taking in grasses. This wide mouth is one possible origin for the name "white," being caused by a mistranslation.
I have had the privileged of touching the skin of a black rhino at a zoo several years ago. Apparently, you can't really train a rhino for the usual husbandry behaviors as you would another animal. Usually, the keeper uses food rewards to get the animal to perform the behaviors so that important checks can be made on the animal's overall health. With a rhino, however, the form of praise they use is actually pats and rubs, which the animals truly seem to enjoy. I went to the zoo in question with a college class. Due to the fact that we were adults and thus very unlikely to do anything stupid, the keeper offered us the chance to pat one of these magnificent animals while she was training him to go into a transport carrier. The feel of the skin was like nothing else, and quite difficult to describe. The skin is rough, almost like concrete, and yet also yielding and slightly warm and fuzzy at the same time. It's an experience I will never forget.
Even though giraffes are very quiet animals, they are quite capable of vocalizing. However, it's rare for the adults to vocalize. Here's footage of a baby vocalizing during a vet exam (begins at 1:44). Watch the full video if you want to hear more about the myth that giraffes are mute:
Here's another sort of noise that giraffes make. When competing for females, males will participate in a form of combat known as "necking." They will shove each other and hit each other with their "horns"--known as ossicones, they are not like true horns and are unique in the animal world. The ossicones are bony projections of the skull covered in a layer of skin. It's actually pretty brutal, with each hit producing a very loud thud. A competitor can be injured, knocked unconcious, or even killed.
The kookaburra is one of my favorite noisy birds. Their call is soo distinctive, that it's one of the most easily recognizable calls out there. They're actually a species of kingfisher, but they don't eat fish. Instead, they prefer to eat such things as snakes and lizards. In fact, many Australians are fond of the birds for that reason. It does make sense, since so many of the reptiles in Australia are quite dangerous.
Oh, course there is always the classic children's song about there "laughing" birds:
Specifically, this is the mating call of a male koala.
A recent study found that what allows these fairly small animals to make such a remarkable noise is the length of their vocal anatomy and peculiar shape of their larynx. It's actually more similar to a humans than any other marsupial and is what allows the males to sound far larger than they really are. In fact the larynx morphology (called a "descended larynx") was once thought to be only found in humans and vital to our ability to speak. Now, however, it has been discovered in both koalas and also red deer. I would suspect that eventually other animals will be found to have the same unique feature. Sounding big is probably an important part of the mating rituals of these interesting marsupials, likely scaring away other males.
Lions make many interesting sounds, but one of the most amazing to me is a male lion's roar. I have found them amazing ever since I heard Leo roaring from the MGM logo.
Even a recording of a male's roar sounds amazingly powerful, and it's not hard to believe that the roar can carry five miles. That takes a lot of energy. Roars are used for such things as defending territory and attracting mates and can even act to identify an individual. Males are highly territorial, and will often roar to try and keep rival males away. The roars are so deep and loud that they will vibrate the metal in the vehicles used to transport visitors to wildlife refuges.
Maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) are usually very quiet animals, but on occasion they will make a noise called a "roar-bark." It begins at 0:50.
That is quite an interesting sound, isn't it! The roar-bark is one of only three vocalizations they make, the other two being a grown and high-pitched whine. Maned wolves, also sometimes called "stilted foxes," are fascinating animals. The "wolf" and "fox" descriptors are misnomers because the maned wolf is actually an more distant offshoot of the Canidae family and not closely related to either wolves or foxes. Nearly a meter in height, they are omnivores and their diet consists mainly of a fruit called "wolf apples" (Solanum lycocarpum). They also feed on small animals and are known to occasionally take free-range chickens. They are native to Brazil, though their territory once reached into several neighboring countries. In captivity, they do best in opposite-sex pairings. Young are born very dark and will lighten with age. They are Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Spotted hyenas are very unique animals, including the noises they make. They are famous for their laugh, which they usually use when excited about food. They also make mooing noises and can scream, among other things. This is a somewhat odd video of a captive hyena, but it shows the laughter the best out of all of the ones I found:
Spotted hyenas are also unique because they have a matriarchal society, and in fact the females are highly masculinized, being larger and more aggressive than males. They mark their territory with a horrid-smelling excretion from their rears called "hyena butter" and groups can be exceptionally large. They are the largest and best-known of the hyena family, which also includes the brown hyena, striped hyena, and aardwolf.
These are amazing little birds. In a dive, they are the fastest animal on the planet, able to reach speeds exceeding 175 miles per hour! They kill prey more by impacting them than anything else, using the speed to their advantage. Their cry is very distinctive, a sort of "kraaaaaa, kraaaaaa, kraaaaaa" sound. They are often used as hunting birds, and falconry is almost an art in my opinion. It is highly regulated, and if you ever have a chance to see one of these birds up close as I have, they are amazing. The aerodynamics on their wings is near perfect, with very sleek, tight feathers. Their eyes are very large and bright, catching onto any movement. For such small birds, they are brilliant hunters.
