Friday, May 4, 2012

Maniacal Laughing Owls In The Backyard




Maniacal laughing sounds come from the woods behind us.


We have Barred Owls most commonly called Hoot Owls. This is the owl with the  distinctive call "Hoo, hoo, too-HOO; hoo, hoo, too-HOO, ahh ". The kid's remembered it by saying “Who, cooks, for-YOU? Who, cooks, for-YOU, all?”

No other owl gives a hoot like this owl’s hoot, but it has a wide variety of other vocalizations too, and that's what sounds so creepy. Our friends who are unfamiliar with the nighttime language of these owls are either in for a real treat, a real scare! They can screech, scream, hiss, squeak, whisper, whistle, cry, bark, buzz, growl, and even laugh. It's a wicked laughter like a bunch of maniacs laughing hysterically in the woods. I think they are the loudest here in the late winter/early spring breeding season when they get especially raucous.



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