Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina
Flight call description An emphatic, buzzy "heeh". Usually abrupt but sometimes more drawn-out giving a lazy quality. Most examples are evenly modulated and monotone or very slightly descending.
Fig.1. New York June 12, 1989 (WRE).
Perched bird.
Similar species See Veery, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and thrush-like calls.
Behavior Primarily a nocturnal migrant. Diurnal onward migration occurs in spring in the Gulf coast region. Rarely seen in redetermined migration, as this behavior apparently occurs to some degree prior to sunrise, and may coincide with a characteristic early-dawn period of increased nocturnal flight call activity. Flight calls are given commonly in nocturnal migration and also in diurnal onward migration. Perched birds may give flight calls at any time during the day, but they do so particularly around dawn and dusk.
Spectrographic description Measured calls (N=4) were 99.0-203.0 (149.6) mS in duration and in the 2.5-3.5 (2.8-3.4) frequency range. Calls were single-banded, typically slightly upward-arched or descending, and were modulated with a spacing of 6.2-7.8 (7.1) mS between humps and a depth of 200-260 Hz.