Helping Aubie this week is Roy Crowe, an eagle consultant at the Southeastern Raptor Center with AU’s College of Veterinary Medicine

Dear Thomas,

Eagles come in all shapes and sizes. Worldwide there are 53 different species of raptors which we call eagles. Each species makes its own set of sounds. We call those sounds “vocalizations”. Eagles do not have vocal cords but make their sounds using a bony chamber called a syrinx located where the windpipe divides to go to the lungs.

Most people never have the privilege of hearing an eagle because eagles generally live in secluded areas and too, some types of eagles are amazingly quiet. The golden eagle (like Auburn’s eagles Tiger and Nova) makes surprisingly little noise to be such large birds. The main call of a golden eagle is a puppy like yelp repeated over and over. Both Tiger and Nova will make this sound when they are expecting to be fed. Less frequently Golden Eagles make a louder sound that ornithologists, or scientists who study birds, write as wee-aaaaaaaaa. I think it sounds like a hoarse cowgirl trying to get the cattle moving. This sound is used when the eagle think there is a threat. Golden eagles also make special sounds during breeding season and baby eaglets even peep to their mother while they are still in the egg.

Bald Eagles, like Auburn’s Spirit, are much louder and more willing to vocalize than the Golden Eagle. This may be because Bald Eagles sometimes live in large groups. Their vocalization helps them communicate information about their situation. Their vocalizations however should not be confused with human talking. When an eagle calls, other eagles may gain helpful information from the sound but the vocalization only reflects the caller’s situation. Eagles do not vocalize to provide information in the way humans do.

Spirit makes an ear piercing “yaap-yaap-yaap” which he repeats over and over when he first hears his handler’s voice in the morning. Sometimes he makes a laughing sound “yee-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka” that sounds somewhat like Curley from the Three Stooges… only much louder. When threatened, Bald Eagles also make a deep snorting that is exactly the sound a grandfather makes when you touch his mustache.

For more information about eagles visit our website at www.auburn.edu/raptor.

Thanks for your question!

Aubie and Mr. Crowe