13. The sound of snipedrumming
I like the sounds of birds at least as much as the sounds of humankind, though sadly many of us subconsciously blank out or pay little attention to the music of the animal world. But not many people forget this particular sound once they’ve heard it in the wild. You can find this sound of snipe ‘drumming’ on various birdsong albums. I hear it after dusk in spring near Stornoway Airport. It sounds like a buzzer going off on a quiz show with bird contestants. Or a mad computer game. It doesn’t really sound like drumming. The really fascinating thing about it is that the sound comes not from vocal cords but from the vibration of feathers as the males dive from great heights during courtship displays.
