unison calling

unison calling
 n.— «The breeding adults are noisiest now during the mating ritual, when pairs are engaged in what is known as “unison calling.” They throw their heads back and unleash a stream of songs and rattles, turning their heads back and forth. This throws their voices into many different directions, which makes it tricky to know exactly where the sounds are coming from. Their windpipes form a loop within the breastbone, which makes their calls so resonant.» —“The return of the cranes” by Elizabeth Laden Island Park News (Idaho) Apr. 23, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

Catchphrases are Language That’s All the Rage

Elizabeth from New Orleans, Louisiana, is pondering the way catchphrases such as Matthew McConaughey’s Alright, alright, alright catch on and get passed around. These vocal memes or prosodic memes get repeated and passed around in a way that...

A Viola at Dusk

Poet James Merrill once compared the voice of Alice B. Toklas to “a viola at dusk.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “A Viola at Dusk” The poet James Merrill once wrote about meeting Alice B. Toklas and he said that he had not...