Is it fair or even accurate to say that Bald Eagle vocalizations are “ridiculously weak and insignificant.”?
1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, Canon 40D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
This is an older photo of an adult Bald Eagle that was one of perhaps a dozen eagles that had collected on a small pond at Farmington Bay WMA. ‘He’ was upset because another eagle had just landed right in front of him so he let his displeasure be known by reacting this way and calling out aggressively in typical Bald Eagle fashion.
A different crop of the same photo reveals part of a juvenile that was also there but the younger eagle wasn’t the one the adult was most unhappy with. The eagle that had just landed was actually in front of the juvie and just barely out of frame to the right.
Just looking at this photo causes me to hear that typical Bald Eagle vocalization in my head. The first time they hear it, most folks are surprised by what it sounds like. Cornell’s Birds of the World has some interesting things to say about the vocalizations of Bald Eagles so I’m quoting them below.
“Though among the most iconic bird species in North America, the vocalizations of the Bald Eagle are less well known and often not recognized by the public. The sound most often attributed to the species in movies is the scream of the Red-tailed Hawk, rather than the weak, gull-like calls typically given by the Bald Eagle. Its call was described by Brewster as “weak in volume and trivial in expression…it consists of seven or eight notes given rather quickly, but haltingly and with apparent difficulty, as if their author was choking or gasping for breath. It cannot fittingly be called a scream, but is rather a snickering laugh expressive of imbecile derision, rather than anything else. My notes render it thus — Ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ker.” It was characterized by Bent as “ridiculously weak and insignificant.” The functions of vocalizations are largely unknown and need study.”
I suppose the accuracy of Bent’s characterization of Bald Eagle calls is fair game for debate but I suspect we could all agree that those “pantaloons” of the adult are pretty magnificent.
Ron
I always love your photography, and these shots are no exception. I have been blessed to be able to observe (from a few hundred yards away) an active bald eagle nest every year since 2011. I have heard hundreds, if not thousands of vocalizations by adults and by juveniles starting with their very first utterances. I’ll take the side in the debate of their language being almost as varied and nuanced as that of a raven. They have everything from sweet lilting courtship songs, to angry shrieks when the spouse has returned late with no food for the baby and everything in between. When the juveniles begin to be left for longer periods while both adults are out hunting to feed the fast-growing youngster, I listen as they start to be able to make what must be a begging noise. It’s thin and weak at first, but steadily grows stronger. This gets a little more frantic after fledging when the young bird has gotten itself stranded somewhere. I learn a lot on the Birds of the World website, but some of those descriptions can be a bit stodgy. Thanks for bringing beauty and science to my inbox.
Your photos are amazing so keep sharing please.
Have a very Merry Christmas!
They are a majestic bird. When I fished commercially in Alaska we would fillet a ton of salmon at a time to roll into the Smokehouse and all of the Eagles would gather around us like songbirds at a feeder taking the salmon heads from us as we were deboning fish. It made me a little nervous when I had a bird with a beak that was meant for tearing flesh snapping his beak right behind my backside
“It made me a little nervous”
I’ll just bet it did, Steven. I’ve seen videos very similar to what you described.
He definitely looks angry even if he doesn’t sound it. 😉 Love his pantaloons too.
Marty, “looks’ probably convey as much meaning as their vocalizations.
Wonderful photos and discussion. Thanks for the call link, too (worked for me). April’s “Dog squeaky toys” nails it for me! My first reaction to the photo was “OMG, I’m stuck in the mud and my new pants are getting soaked!”
Watching the live eagle cams, you get to hear the calls – greetings among adults, with the kids, reactions to interlopers when the adults are incubating the eggs. Fascinating!
Sunny here in Central WA, finally! The yard has been full of robins for the last hour!
Thank you, Carolyn. We had snow this morning but not much.
Lovely photos, I missed all those great eagle days at Farmington Bay, I was too busy in rehabbing birds in those days.I was busy raising two kids still, I was teaching part time ( lol 32 hours) 5 days a week and putting in another 24 hours in volunteering. About the only time I got out there was to get a reported injured bird or release one from our care. I think the above description is unfair. Many raptors have a less than grandiose call. Swanison’s, Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks sound like dog squeaky toys. It can be a comical sound from powerful birds.
“sound like dog squeaky toys” – TOO funny 🙂 Guess with their other talents screaming doesn’t need to be among them! 😉
“sound like dog squeaky toys”
I’m stealing that one, April.
My foster dog definitely responded to the vocalizations on the link Ron sent, so chalk up another vote in favor of “squeaky toys!” 😂
😊
Many, many years ago, and long before digital, I set up a repeating slideshow with sounds for our Audubon booth at the County Fair. I was staffing the booth when a man told me we had everything wrong. He said many of the vocalizations were wrong and the worst was the Bald Eagle. He said it was ridiculous to think that such a magnificent bird had a call like that. The “real voice” is like the Red-tailed Hawk but much, much louder and more powerful. We also, according to him, misidentified the Kestrel. It was really a Gyrfalcon and he knew them well because he had a flock of them that live in his backyard all year long. I forgot to ask if he lived in the Arctic. It is surprising the first time you hear a Bald Eagle but it’s a sound I love to hear and always gets my attention.
A “flock of Gyrfalcons” in your back yard. Or anywhere. That guy sounds like a piece of work.
I had a falconer friend of mine who had a Gyrfalcon. When I lived in Jerome Idaho I arrived home at the RV park one day after work and I noticed a bird of prey in the Cottonwood tree above my trailer. I was observing it and when it flew off I went holy smoke it’s an immature Gyrfalcon. My falconer friends would go to The Dakotas every winter to fly their Birds and hoping to catch a immature Falcon that had flown south for the winter. My friend unfortunately had a golden eagle kill his GyrFalcon after it had caught a Sagehen
“My friend unfortunately had a golden eagle kill his GyrFalcon after it had caught a Sagehen”
Dang, that would have been a heartbreaker.
Magnificent pantaloons indeed! The bald eagle is so
Bad Assy it doesn’t need to say much, it’s presence alone speaks volumes. Am disgusted with the film makers sound swap – so, so wrong. Merry Christmas Ron 🎄🧑🎄😇
Bad Assy indeed, Kathleen.
I couldn’t open the link and had to go searching. Definitely not what I expected, but with power, grace, style and MAGNIFICENT pantaloons I suppose they can’t have everything. I am also so very glad to note that my long ago whimsy has found its way into your bird descriptions.
Yup, you get credit for both “pantaloons” and “britches”, EC.
You’re the second person that I know of that couldn’t open the link.
I didm’t know Eagles swore before…..
You never know what you’re gonna learn on FP, Patty!
The juvie was intent on learning some new words from the adult. Great pantaloons!
Who knows, could be Kathryn…
TOO funny! I’ve never really thought about it but then I’ve never heard them vocalizing much! 🙂 Most memorable was one with a fish on top of a power pole “bragging” which, of course, attracted Magpies to try and steel the fish. 😉 Misrepresenting them with a hawk call is a downer – GEEZ!
“Misrepresenting them with a hawk call is a downer”
It sure is, Judy. And I don’t understand it. Most filmmakers go to great length to get things accurate but they don’t seem to care a whit about getting bird sounds right.
Really enjoyed the picture of the eagle and such a good look at the pantaloons. I was not aware of their vocalizations — so fun to watch the clip. Happy Holidays.
Thanks, Laurie.
I have to say the first time I heard a Bald eagle I person I thought that’s all you got. For such a big bird I expected something a little more…. Well more!
Also I’ve really been enjoying your family history posts.
Merry Christmas to you😊
“I have to say the first time I heard a Bald eagle in person I thought that’s all you got.”
A perfectly understandable reaction, Diana. Thank you.
Just a couple days ago I was following a Red-tailed Hawk around one of our lakes and he or she was really screaming. I love to hear them scream, and as you say movie producers probably use that sound for eagles in films. The bald eagle’s call is high-pitched stuttering chirp, but when you look at one with its mouth wide open and with a scowl like expression it looks like they have a loud powerful scream. Nice shots and post, and yes, those pantaloons are awesome.
That’s it, Everett. They LOOK like they can scream but they can’t.
Not too powerful in volume, for sure– but loud enough to elicit a response from another eagle, according to the clip you attached
(thanks for that ). The pantaloons ARE beautiful, but the feet and
claws are REALLY IMPRESSIVE– and I’ll bet the prey know that
they’re “done for” when they see those coming……
Kris, thanks for mentioning that you saw the clip. I know of one person who couldn’t open the link to it.
I would rather call Bent’s evaluation of the Bald Eagle call as “ridiculously weak and insignificant.”
Michael, as they say, turnabout is fair play.
Beautiful photo, Ron! I love your “pantaloons” description for the lovely and massive feathered legs on the eagle. Eagles’ vocalizations are definitely unique but I disagree with Bent’s characterization. I really wish sound effects folks would match the correct calls with the birds in movies, shows and commercials.
Melanie, like you, Red-tailed Hawk calls substituted for Bald Eagle calls (or the calls of any other raptor) drive me nuts.
Nice pantaloons!! 🙂
Agreed.
I love the way Bent characterized the behavior and appearance of so many species, often with at bit of “bad bird/good bird” judgement. I had may of his reprints in paperbacks. When we had to downsize our library before moving to Connecticut I donated every single one along with many other old books I now sorely miss.
Kenneth, Bent has that reputation as far as I can tell. I’m much less familiar with Brewster.