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Please assist with ID of an animal (possibly a bird) sound?


Beowulf

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Good day to all my fellow birding aficionados! 

I joined this forum after much searching and listening to bird calls online, in an attempt to ID something unique. 

 

Needless to say, I need some assistance.

History:

I spent some months in Tanzania near Dodoma in a field camp and spent my freetime observing the wildlife.

However, on four occasions I was awoken to an animal sound in the early midnight hours (23:00-03:00) to a sound coming from the treeline outside our encampment. 

Descriptor:

The sound comes in two phases, with no prior warning or movements. 

"tik - tik - tik - tik - KWA - KWA - KWA" 

This only repeated twice on the one occasion, and across four different occasions during my 7 month stint there. 

I did inquire with the locals, and however it occurred to me that it was neither an owl or a night jar. Possibly a species of frog, a even. 

Any guidance please? 

 

Thanks, 

Beo

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This is not a question, it is an enigma.

 

Almost twenty years ago, I went fishing in an extremely remote region of the Amazon, we went down by seaplane, and after a couple of hours, we arrived at the source of the Água Boa do Univine river, we stayed in individual tents. Thing of a sport fisherman looking for a photo with a big peacock bass. In these six nights, I heard unbelievable sounds, some very strange and some even musical. So, I think that without a recording, only someone from the land can try to answer you.

 

Welcome!

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Thank you, 

 

I have been listening to countless bird calls and sounds of nocturnal animals like pigs, felines, parrots and frogs to find something that remotely sounds familiar, but however I think I'm missing something... I do remember the night life is very active and we would even hear hyenas and jackals.

What made me think it's a bird is it used to come from the top of the perimeter fence close to wear my tent was pitched or slightly off into the tree canopy. 

Still looking though. 

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Bush baby of some sort? cannot remember what sounds they make but might be worth checking. or an angry squirrel; they make a lot of noise. Just a thought

 

Edited by wilddog
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@Beowulf Without being able to listen to a recording, it's difficult to tell. but from your description and the timing, I would think it would most likely have been a nocturnal mammal, the obvious guess would be galago or bushbaby, given the location was near Dodoma, there are two species it could have been, click on these links to hear recordings of their calls 

 

Large-eared greater galago (Otolemur crassicaudatus) 

 

Northern lesser galago (Galago senegalensis) 

 

Another possibility to consider is a tree hyrax here's a video of the call 

 

 

I would have thought that a frog is fairly unlikely, their calls tend to be pretty bird like, my rule of thumb in the bush. is that if I hear an unfamiliar bird call that I really can't identify, then it's probably a frog, certainly anywhere where the habitat is likely to be home to frogs.  

 

I hope the recordings help, I don't think offer any other suggestions.    

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Pictus Safaris

Galago is a likely candidate, but the fact you say that the call was only repeated twice each time makes me think it might not be the guilty party - I've slept under many bushbaby-filled trees in the Selous, and bushbabies never seem to shut up once they get going!

 

Another thought would be a ground-nesting bird that has been flushed by a larger animal during the night. It's tough without hearing the call myself, but perhaps a member of the lapwing family?

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