68. Discovering new species by their songs.
8. How Songs Change over Space and Time
Each species has its own song
From page 142 in the book.
Discovering new species by their songs. For many who love birds, discovering a new species is the ultimate quest, the ultimate find. In North America, here's a hot tip: Go to Vancouver Island and record the drumming ruffed grouse there. Even the poorest quality recordings, done with a smart phone, will suffice. If all of the drummers there are different from those of mainland North America, you have a strong case for splitting the "Vancouver Island Ruffed Grouse" into another grouse species. The grouse there and in adjacent areas of British Columbia are already recognized as a distinct subspecies, based on plumage ("dark and brownish with pronounced ventral barring," according to the Birds of North America). Given that the drums of grouse are almost certainly innate and not learned, I place my bets on that grouse being a different species. Better hurry, though, or you'll be scooped!