Songs and calls of some New York State birds

Gulls and Terns

Greater Black-backed Gull
Larus marinus
Greater Black-backed Gull 52kB
Greater Black-backed Gull 77kB
Long Island, August 1997

Herring Gull Larus argentatus Herring Gull 126kB Damariscotta Falls, Maine, April 1998. Herring Gull 399kB Long Island, September 1999. Heh-heh-heh, YOW, heh-heh-heh, etc. 196kB MP3 file Long Island, April 2004.

Immature Herring Gull begging 53kB Long Island, August 1997.

Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis Feeding vocalizations. At low tide Ring-billed Gulls mass at the shoreline, standing in one or two inches of water and treading the bottom, presumably to stir up food (they peck at the water from time to time). There is a lot of squabbling over territory. Table talk I   129kB Table talk II   143kB Table talk III   93kB Long Island, January 1999

Laughing Gull Larus atricilla Heh-heh 16 kB Hah-hah-hah, hooh-hooh, hah-hah-hah 80 kB ``A high, long-drawn laugh''  (Chapman) 90 kB Duet 200 kB Chatham, Massachusetts, April 2002

Bonaparte's Gull Larus philadephia "A nasal cheer or cherr" (Peterson) 91Kb MP3 file Bonaparte's Gull 136Kb MP3 file Bonaparte's Gull 1305Kb MP3 file (interpolations: Swan take-off, Herring Gull, Western Sandpiper) Long Island, April 2004

Common Tern Sterna hirundo ``A vibrant, purring tearrr'' (Chapman) 17kB Tearrr 13kB Long Island, August 1997. Courting vocalizations. The courtship scene for Common Terns is somewhere between the Debutante Cotillion and the Roller Derby. In this instance, about 100 Terns are standing on a steadily shrinking sand bar. At any one time five or six are undertaking ritual bathing in the adjacent shallows. At any one time three or four couples are engaged in the "stand on my back" phase of courtship. A few fish are served, but it is nothing like the inflexible protocol of the Little Terns (see below). The two main sounds are tearr, tearr, tearr, ... (males?) and a rapid yip, yip, yip, ... (females?). Here is how they sound together: . Long Island, May 2001.

Little Tern Sterna albifrons (Least Tern). Courting vocalizations. Little Tern courtship is mediated by fish. Females stand on the beach ("I'm here, I'm here!" 27kB ) keeping their competitors at a distance ("Get away from me, you hussy!" 34kB ). A male flies in with a minnow draped in his beak ("I've got a fish, I've got a fish!" 37kB ) and finds a female who will accept it ("I've got a fish!" "I'm here!" etc. 32kB ). The male flies back out to sea ("Yes yes yes she took my fish!" 58kB ). Long Island, July and August 1997.

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