Name That Tune - Animal ID

[WalksWithBlackflies]

The past two nights around 9:00, I've heard a strange call from two animals. One animal is on the edge of a field and forest, the other is on a wooded creek bank about 1/4 mile from the first. I can't tell if the sounds are coming from ground or tree level.

The call is primarily a barking, much like a small dog, that goes on for about 15 seconds. It begins (and sometimes ends) with a single high-pitched whistle. In between the "chorus", there is a call like a 7-year-old boy yelling "Paul". The whistle and "Paul" sounds are bird-like.

I was originally thinking "owl", but I've never heard an owl bark.

 

[Waumbek]

Funny thing, but yesterday I did hear an owl "bark." It was around 5.30 p.m. coming down Kinsman near the 2500' elevation. At first I thought I was hearing two dogs bark back and forth from positions about 1/4 to 1/2 mile apart. I listened more carefully and could then hear the "who-cooks-for-you" four-syllable call of the barred owl. Your call doesn't sound like owl to me but some owls do "bark."

 

[Puck]

http://owlpages.com/species/strix/varia/sounds/barred1.mp3
http://owlpages.com/species/strix/varia/sounds/barred2.mp3
http://owlpages.com/species/strix/varia/sounds/barred3_jf.mp3

Do any of these rinf a bell?

http://owlpages.com/species/bubo/virginianus/sounds/greathorned1_naturesongs.mp3

or this?

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

Puck -

None of those are similar. I scanned through the North American owl pages and couldn't find anything either.

 

[Bjarni]

What you heard was a melonhead. They're just now coming out of winter hibernation.

 

[Puck]

http://www.angelfire.com/ar2/thefoxden/sounds.html

perhaps it was a fox??

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

Puck -

That's funny... I was just on that site. Similar, but not exact... no whistles or "Pauls". Closer than the owl calls though. I didn't know foxes had such a range of vocalizations.

Bjarni -

The first night I thought it was teenagers beneath the bridge. Then I was thinking "chuds"... but no, it is definitely an animal.

 

[Mr. X]

I'd stick to the C.H.U.D. theory.

Cannibalistic
Humanoid
Underground
Dweller

 

[Umsaskis]

Tough to tell without hearing the sound (or hearing you make an imitation of the sound). Another possibility is a raven (or possibly crow). They should have some fledglings by now, and they make some really wierd sounds during nesting season. One of the sounds is exactly like a baby screaming and it makes you instinctively need to go rescue it. If you're anywhere near any cliffs or ledges where ravens could nest, you might be hearing some.

Come to think of it, the sequence of sounds you describe could also be any number of bird species feeding hungry babies. When the adult bird is near, the babies begin making a harsh, "kak-kak" type sound - the exact quality of the sound varies by species - and then when the adult gets to the nest and dumps food into the baby's mouth, their calling often turns into a short squeak or whistle.

However, most birds don't feed their babies at 9:00 at night....

My experience with barred owls is that they don't bark for 15 seconds straight. Mostly their barking is just a few notes at the beginning of their typical sequence, or three or four in another type of sequence.

I guess I'll just throw up my hands along with everybody else and call it "Barkus paulinii, the barking Paul bird."

 

[BEUCS]

Possibly a night heron? They make a call that volcalizes as "quark,quark".

 

[Stan]

Hey! It's mating season for a lot of species and like the rest of us, strange things are sung in promise for that quest!