CURWOOD: “Whistle and I’ll come to you” may be the title of a famous ghost story by British author MR James but usually whistling is a cheerful sound, and catchy, as Michael Stein tells us in today’s BirdNote®.

http://birdnote.org/show/birds-whistle

BirdNote®
Birds That Whistle

STEIN: Some of the most familiar and easy to remember birdsongs are those that sound like they could have been whistled by a human. Their quality and simplicity remind us of the sounds we can make, even with our modest human whistling apparatus.

The Olive-sided Flycatcher has one of the most distinctive and catchy songs on the continent —
[http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/195787].

— and many birders learn early on to pick out its sharply inflected three-note song, and to imitate it [Narrator’s imitation of whistle].

The Eastern Pewee has a catchy tune too…
(http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/191222)

…pretty much whistling out its name, pee-a-wee. A bit harder to imitate though -
[Narrator imitates.].

But it’s not only little songbirds that whistle.

This night-time whistler's a Northern Saw-whet Owl
(http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/130470).

We like to think that owls only hoot, but these sound a lot like human whistles and are easy to copy.

Finally, here’s a bird that whistles its heart out.

These shrill notes belong to a little seabird, the Pigeon Guillemot [GILL-uh-mot], cousin to the puffins, whistling over the waves along the Pacific Coast. [Repeat Keller and Vyn recording]
I’m Michael Stein.

BACALL: You know how to whistle, don’t you Steve? You just put your lips together…and blow… [SOUNDTRACK, “TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT”

CURWOOD: And if you like it, you can whistle on over to our website for some pictures.