This is what it sounds like…

…when doves cry. There was a mourning dove under my air conditioner this afternoon. It’s call sounded like it was in my living room. Up close, the detail in the call sounds a lot more metallic than the soft sound you hear in the distance [mp3], reminiscent of the mechanical whirr of a cicada’s tymbals, or perhaps Bubo from Clash of the Titans. I tried to record it with my cellphone, but it flew away before I could get the darn thing in the right mode. A few hours later, I was walking home down the sidewalk from grocery store. A startled mourning dove jumped out of the grass and flew right under my chin. I could have damn near tasted it! When they fly away startled, they make a rapid "woot-woot-woot" sound [mp3] with their wingbeats.

They are pretty common around here, but today’s close encounters were quite welcome. I got pretty annoyed with Wolf Blitzer inviting viewers to "count along" with the shots on that cellphone video. The call of the mourning dove [mp3] suits me much better than the din of media insanity.