Wednesday, November 18, 2009

RMBO Audio Quiz #5 - Answer

Play audio on player below or click here to download mp3



This week's quiz wasn't too difficult and everyone that answered was correct. This audio clip of a Northern Pygmy-Owl and European Starling was recorded in the Paonia town park (Delta County, Colorado) by Jason Beason. A pair of Northern Pygmy-Owls attempted to breed unsuccessfully in April of 2008. The pair was seen copulating and the female was seen exiting from a cavity in a large silver maple in the park. Of course, there are a large number of starlings breeding here. When I returned one evening and saw a starling poking its head out of the same cavity the female Pygmy-Owl had been using, I lost hope that the owls would actually breed.

The following people answered correctly on this quiz (* = 1/2 bonus point):

Andy Bankert *
Taylor Brooks *
Eric DeFonso *
Kirk Huffstater
Katie Stassen *
Joel Such *
Marcel Such *

We have a three-way tie for first place right now. Here is a list of the top five quizzers and their current scores:

Andy Bankert 6
Joel Such 6
Marcel Such 6
Eric DeFonso 4
Nathan Pieplow 3.5

Thanks,

Jeff and Jason
RMBO Audio Quizmasters

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

RMBO Audio Quiz #4 - Answer

Play audio on player below or click here to download the mp3.



Our first owl species for the quiz! Owls can be difficult simply because we just don’t hear them often. I thought that this would be an easy quiz and was surprised that a few folks answered incorrectly. These simultaneously vocalizing owls are Eastern Screech-Owls that I recorded at the infamous Crow Valley campground on August 17, 2008. As I began to write the answer to this week’s quiz it occurred to me that I was not certain if either of the vocalizations heard here (the “whinny” or the “trill”) can be called a “song”. Some species of owls have what can be called a “male advertising song” but are either of these known to be vocalizations exclusive to male Eastern Screech-Owls? I would be curious if anyone out here has an answer to that question!

Here are the seven respondents that answered correctly this week:

Andy Bankert
Tayler Brooks
Jack Chiles
Katie Stassen
Joel Such
Marcel Such
Charles Swift


Thanks,

Jason Beason
RMBO Audio Quizmaster