RECORDING 1
DATE/TIME: 01/february/2004 (6 p.m.) - IDENTIFICATION AND BEHAVIOUR: one male sings (not seen) perched somewhere in a cultivated field with scattered olive trees - POSITION: Poderone near Magliano in Toscana, LAT.N 42°36'/LONG.E 11°17' - ALTITUDE: +130 m. - VOCALIZATION TYPE: typical hoot - SEX/AGE: adult male - COMMENT : the bird was considerably far from microphone (the audio sample has been digitally amplified). One closer bird answer (see below) - MIC: (U)
recording 1 (25 KB) - * - spectrogram 1 (10 KB)
RECORDING 2
DATE/TIME: 01/february/2004 (6 p.m.) - IDENTIFICATION AND BEHAVIOUR: one female (not seen) is perched somewhere in a cultivated field with scattered olive trees. It seems to answer to the male hoots (see Recording 1) - POSITION: Poderone near Magliano in Toscana, LAT.N 42°36'/LONG.E 11°17' - ALTITUDE: +130 m. - VOCALIZATION TYPE: a series of loud "kew" calls. This is the commonest call. - SEX/AGE: adult female - COMMENT: probably it is a female answering to her mate. Average time interval between calls: 1,17 s. (S.D. = 0,49; Range = 0,7/2,5; n = 13). - MIC: (U)
recording 2 (177 KB) - * - spectrogram 2 (20 KB)
RECORDING 3
DATE/TIME: 12/january/2009 (8 p.m.) - IDENTIFICATION AND BEHAVIOUR: Two males are hooting at the same time in the valley; one female calls too. Hilly zone with woods and cultivated fields. - POSITION: Montiano, LAT.N 42°38'/LONG.E 11°14' - ALTITUDE: +150 m. - VOCALIZATION TYPE: Male hoots. - SEX/AGE: adult male. - COMMENT: Time interval between hoots has been reduced, average time interval: 3,33 s. (S.D. = 0,31; Range = 2,9/3,7; n = 11). - MIC: (P)
recording 3 (496 KB) - * - spectrogram 3 (44 KB)
RECORDING 4
DATE/TIME: 23/june/2009 (10.30 p.m.) - IDENTIFICATION AND BEHAVIOUR: In an abandoned house there is a Barn owl nest. A Little owl calls alarmed from the roof of the same house, while I am recording the Barn owl chicks. Zone with cultivated land and small copses. - POSITION: Sabatina near Arcille, LAT.N 42°48'/LONG.E 11°18' - ALTITUDE: 80 m. - VOCALIZATION TYPE: alarm calls. - SEX/AGE: adult female? - COMMENT: The bird does not repeat this call series. - MIC: (P)
recording 4 (275 KB) - * - spectrogram 4 (41 KB)
RECORDING 5
DATE/TIME: 5/december/2009 (9 p.m.) - IDENTIFICATION AND BEHAVIOUR: One bird calls two times from a cultivated field with hedgerows and poplar trees. - POSITION: Roselle near Grosseto, LAT.N 42°47'/LONG.E 11°08' - ALTITUDE: 15 m. - VOCALIZATION TYPE: this call seems to express anxiety and/or excitement. - SEX/AGE: female, age unknown - COMMENT: This kind of "kew" call preceded by a sort of rapid trill is a relatively common vocalization. - MIC: (P)
recording 5 (660 KB) - * - spectrogram 5 (36 KB)
RECORDING 6
DATE/TIME: 9/december/2009 (8.30 p.m.) - IDENTIFICATION AND BEHAVIOUR: One bird - not in sight - calls several times from a grazed meadow. - POSITION: Monte Sugherello near Manciano, LAT.N 42°34'/LONG.E 11°28'. - ALTITUDE: +230 m. - VOCALIZATION TYPE: excitement call. - SEX/AGE: female, age unknown. - COMMENT: These calls are similar to those of the previous recording, but they lack the trill. There are two bisyllabic calls at the beginning and a series of monosyllabic ones at the end of the recording. The bird starts calling after playback of Stone curlew calls. - MIC: (P)
recording 6 (720 KB) - * - spectrogram 6 (36 KB)
RECORDING 7
DATE/TIME: 27/december/2010 (5.30 p.m.) - IDENTIFICATION AND BEHAVIOUR: One bird - not in sight - is perched on a tree in a zone with cultivated fields, hedgerows and copses. - POSITION: Maremma Regional Park near Alberese, LAT.N 42°41'/LONG.E 11°03'. - ALTITUDE: +0 m. - VOCALIZATION TYPE: alarm call. - SEX/AGE: unknown. - COMMENT: The bird starts calling after some hoots uttered by a far male (not recorded). Background: Little Owl calls and barking dogs. - MIC: (P)
recording 7 (863 KB) - * - spectrogram 7 (58 KB)
RECORDING 8
DATE/TIME: 13/april/2013 (8 p.m.) - IDENTIFICATION AND BEHAVIOUR: One bird - not in sight - is perched quite far on the roof of a farm house. Zone with cultivated fields, vineyards and olive groves. - POSITION: Poderone near Magliano in Toscana, LAT.N 42°36'/LONG.E 11°17' - ALTITUDE: +130 m. - VOCALIZATION TYPE: Male hoots. - SEX/AGE: adult male. - COMMENT: This bird utters a quite unusual hoot type, with descending pitch at the end and a very short modulation in the middle (see spectrograms). Background: Nightingale, Scops Owl, barking dog and calls of amphibians. Note the duet of Scops Owls at the end of the recording (see spectrograms). - MIC: (P)
recording 9 (1485 KB) - * - spectrogram 8 (76 KB)
RECORDING 9
DATE/TIME: 30/june/2015 (2 a.m.) - IDENTIFICATION AND BEHAVIOUR: One bird - not in sight - is perched on a row of cypresses near a pasture for horses. Zone with cultivated fields, pastures and horse paddocks. - POSITION: Cernaia near Grosseto, LAT.N 42°47'/LONG.E 11°03' - ALTITUDE: +0 m. - VOCALIZATION TYPE: excited calls, "cackling". - SEX/AGE: unknown. - COMMENT: The bird is not close to the microphone. Background: crickets. - MIC: (WA)
recording 9 (268 KB) - * - spectrogram 9 (68 KB)
RECORDING 10
DATE/TIME: 7/may/2016 (11 p.m.) - IDENTIFICATION AND BEHAVIOUR: One bird - not in sight - is hidden in an old abandoned house near a small lake. Zone with cultivared fields, olive groves and forests. - POSITION: Lago dell'Accesa near Valpiana, Grosseto, LAT.N 42°59'/LONG.E 10°54' - ALTITUDE: +170 m. - VOCALIZATION TYPE: male hoot (a quite nasal type). - SEX/AGE: adult male. - COMMENT: The Little Owl nest is probably in the house roof. The audio sample is part of a longer recording (see spectrogram time axis for details). The bird was stimulated with a brief playback. Background: Scops Owl, amphibian calls, human voices and traffic noise. - MIC: (P)
recording 10 (1290 KB) - * - spectrogram 10 (74 KB)
RECORDING 11
DATE/TIME: 14/april/2015 (9 p.m.) - IDENTIFICATION AND BEHAVIOUR: One bird - not in sight - is perched somewhere in a field near a farm house. Zone with a small river, cultivated fields, olive groves and hedgerows with trees. - POSITION: Località Bagnacci near Fonteblanda, Grosseto, LAT.N 42°33'/LONG.E 11°11' - ALTITUDE: +20 m. - VOCALIZATION TYPE: male hoot. - SEX/AGE: adult male. - COMMENT: This hoot type is much more whistled and has a relatively pure tone (no harmonics on the spectrogram); compare it with the previous recording. Background: very strong amphibian calls. Note that there is also a hint of echo in this recording (see spectrograms). - MIC: (WA)
recording 11 (1017 KB) - * - spectrogram 11 (66 KB)