There was an owl hooting outside our house earlier, and it occurred to me that every other bird has a high-pitched call.

Ravens have a croak that could be considered low, but their loud call is a caw that’s higher. I can’t think of another bird with a call nearly as low as owls’.

Search engines are no help, mostly duplicates answering why they hoot. Why are owls’ calls so much lower than other birds?

  • anon6789@lemmy.world
    1·
    1 year ago

    The syrinx is a birds equivalent of our vocal chords.

    From Wikipedia

    Unlike the larynx in mammals, the syrinx is located where the trachea forks into the lungs. Thus, lateralization is possible, with muscles on the left and right branch modulating vibrations independently so that some songbirds can produce more than one sound at a time.[3] Some species of birds, such as New World vultures, lack a syrinx and communicate through throaty hisses. Birds do have a larynx, but unlike in mammals, it does not vocalize.

    Addendum from PA Game Commission

    The great horned is known as the “hoot owl” for its call, three to eight (usually five) deep, booming, uninflected hoots: hoo-hoohoo hoo, given in a pattern somewhat like a Morse code message and has great carrying power. The hoot of the larger female is higher pitched than that of the male due to her smaller syrinx.