Thursday, December 28, 2006

Jerome Jackson on WGCU radio

Now available here.

Jackson talks for 9+ minutes about the IBWO, starting at about the one minute mark. The show lasts about 54 minutes (I haven't listened to the whole thing).

2 comments:

Luneau Atheist said...

"Lots of things sound like that. In fact, the scientists at Cornell have since recorded, uh, close to a dozen different animals that can make that sound. That sounds is indistinguishable graphically and to the ear from a young White-tailed Deer, from, uh, a squirrel can make that sound on occasion, other woodpeckers are capable of making that sound, White-breasted Nuthatches are capable of making that sound. They don't make it with the same cadence all the time, but sometimes they can. So while it is suggestive of Ivory-billeds, it's not documentation that proves Ivory-billed Woodpeckers are out there."

A dozen different sounds? How come THOSE sounds aren't up on the CLO web site? Where are the sonograms? How come we have to come to Tom's site to find reference to White-tailed Deer sound?


The problem is that the sounds that Ivory-billed Woodpeckers make are very, very simple sounds. Structurally they're indistinguishable from a lot of things. A tree branch blowing in the wind hitting something else can make the rapping sound that an Ivory-billed makes. And they're suggestive, but they're not yet proof that says yes that really was an Ivory-billed Woodpecker.


Searchers need to produce an audio similar to the 1935 records, giving a series of toots close together (not minutes apart), if they want their audio evidence to be taken seriously.

Anonymous said...

This is a first class, fair and honest 11 minutes by a true expert on the Ivory-billed woodpecker. Its not pro or against its existance, but like the old "Dragnet" tv show, "just the facts mam...". I hope everyone who reads this blog takes the 11 minutes to listen. Really good stuff here. Also very interesting info on the 1988 search in Cuba for the Ivory-bill in this 11 minute segment.