Phalaropes calling

On 1 November 2016, I posted some pictures of some Red Phalaropes involved in some aggressive behaviors.  I mentioned that I hoped to share some examples of the vocalizations that accompanied these interactions.  Well, I finally found a few minutes to edit a few of the audio files.

Here are two pictures of phalaropes from one of the days I recorded them.  Following these images, I'll share some examples of the audio files.  You might need to turn up the volume of your speakers.  [If you can't see the audio files in the e-mail, just click on the title of this post to go directly to the web page.] 

 

 

First, here's an example of the typical flight call — a short, high-pitched "pit" or "pit-pit-pit":

Next, an example of their "contact calls" or twittering.  [This one was recorded in the rain.]




And here are two examples of the more aggressive calls.  Listen for a series of emphatic notes, especially in the first recording (4novC) between ~5-8 seconds: