“The calls of the White-browed Crake (Porzana cinerea) (above) are inadequately documented in my region (Wells 1999). I have heard at least 5 different calls, but documentation of them has been difficult due to the secretive nature of this bird. Today I spent time with 6 birds, 3 pairs, and 4 were quite accommodating, even allowing a very close approach. I managed to document 4 of the different calls.
“This post has a short recording of the most uncommon and most unusual of these calls HERE. The sonogram and waveform is given above. To my memory and records, I have only heard this call twice, fortunately both times seeing the bird make them. I suspect they are a ‘serious’ territorial call. They can be best described a sudden, loud yelp or trill. They are uttered in a sequence, repeated rapidly 7-8 times. I managed to catch the tail end of the call today.
“Another set of calls HERE. These are very frequent and I consider them contact calls. Low volume, frequently uttered while foraging in reeds/undergrowth. The sonogram and waveform is given above (other birds in background). More calls as I get time to process.”
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
21th May 2013
Location: Tambun Interior, Perak, Malaysia
Habitat: Fish farming, ex-mining pools, limestone hills nearby
