| parrot & corvid hearing range & sounds from electronic ballasts for flourescent lights - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Jonathan Higbee |
I have some questions about the hearing range of parrots &
corvids (crow family birds), and suitable lighting so as to
avoid bothering them with flickering and high frequency hum.
If you can answer any of these questions please reply.
Here is the reason for my wondering:
I am considering switching all my bird room florescent
lights from magnetic to electronic ballasts. This is because
I know the birds can detect flicker at a higher rate than I
can, but I can still detect the flicker as well (from some
my crappier fixtures).
Electronic ballasts for florescent lights reportedly can
emit a hum, and presumably that hum would be between 10,000
and 45,000 hertz (since that's the rate at which they flash
the lights - as compared to a flicker rate of 30-100Hz for
magnetic ballasts).
Also I've heard that the flicker fusion rate for parrots is
around 170Hz. Thus a light flickering between 10,000 and
45,000Hz should appear solid & less bothersome for them &
for me. But high frequency humming could be very bothersome
to them perhaps.
So...
1. What is the hearing range of parrots, such as of the
Quaker Parrot, and of the Timneh African Grey parrot, and
for corvids? Has anyone tested to see if they can hear or
are sensitive to any sounds from say 10KHz through 45KHz? I
have no corvids (crow family birds) right now, but who knows
about the future (perhaps an African Pied Crow or a smaller
exotic jay), but I do have parrots.
2. Which electronic ballasts suitable for use with T12 size
(ie: fat - normal - common sized) 40 watt (48 inch)
florescent bulbs are verifiably quiet? A sound rating of "A"
may not sufficiently address whether the ballasts are
verifiably quiet. They may be humming outside my hearing
range, but not outside the range of my birds.
3. Which electronic ballasts work at about a 15KHz, instead
of 25 or 45. The reason I ask this is because if I have a
15KHz ballast or a 10KHz one, if it hums I could then hear
it myself & then determine whether the ballast was crap & to
get another one. This may be a moot point if there's good
answers for the other two points above.
Note that I have several F40C50 type bulbs (to provide an
approximation of daylight).
Sincerely,
Jonathan Higbee
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| mmarteen |
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I think birds learn to recognize the normal sounds of their environment and
they are cues that everything is OK or not. Each of birds learned to
recognize the cappucino maker as a "morning sound" when my husband makes
coffee. Each was first startled and a little frightened but now our caique
and macaw talk back to it. In the evening when we are watching TV, the
caique, macaw and tiel all make soft little noises that appear to be in
synch with eachother, maybe like a little "ping"? "You there?" "Yep" You
there? Yep."
mm
"R" <rl@vin.net> wrote in message
news:oS2zb.1693$ec6.277553@newsfep1-win.server.ntli.net...
>
> "Liquid Memory" <liqbbs@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
> news:fh2osvcjthu9g5i1j246gar8v057gdonjc@4ax.com...
> > On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 21:57:08 GMT, "jriegle" <jriegle@att.net> wrote:
> >
> > >> Considering how much noise birds make themselvss I can't believe they
> > >> really care about low level noises in their envirironment. My
macaws
> > >> and amazons seem to sleep just as well with a TV on in the room as
> > >> without.
> > >> --
> > >> Lou Boyd
> > >>
> > >
> >
> > My nanday conure complains when I turn off the tv at night, and when I
> > turn it back on, she quiets down. Go figure.
> >
> > Tony
>
>
> And your point is?
>
>
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| Rich Peet |
I have made some inquiries in the past on the sound range of birds.
From the research people I have spoken with it seems to compare pretty close
to people for the frequency response. I forgot to ask if the large parrots
have a similar structure as frogs so that they don't go deaf with very loud
calls.
From my observations the highest pitch bird I have recorded is about
13,000hz. My Quaker has no problem hearing it. My Quaker does not respond
to my lowest pitch bird recording at all, 28hz-75hz. But as explained by
Bernie Krause, this low pitched bird is not in the Quakers niche and so
doesn't care as much. see: http://www.wildsanctuary.com/niche.pdf
As far as light freq response I do not know. A lecture I attended on avian
vision was more centered on the difference in number and size of focal
points within a birds eye. But most parrot owners have already figured out
when their birds are looking at them and know that stuff.
Rich Peet
"Jonathan Higbee" <jh2003@cyberspace.org> wrote in message
news:5k8ksv48f4e5juqn524mha72nhnovq2eg8@4ax.com...
>
> I have some questions about the hearing range of parrots &
> corvids (crow family birds), and suitable lighting so as to
> avoid bothering them with flickering and high frequency hum.
> If you can answer any of these questions please reply.
>
> Here is the reason for my wondering:
>
> I am considering switching all my bird room florescent
> lights from magnetic to electronic ballasts. This is because
> I know the birds can detect flicker at a higher rate than I
> can, but I can still detect the flicker as well (from some
> my crappier fixtures).
>
> Electronic ballasts for florescent lights reportedly can
> emit a hum, and presumably that hum would be between 10,000
> and 45,000 hertz (since that's the rate at which they flash
> the lights - as compared to a flicker rate of 30-100Hz for
> magnetic ballasts).
>
> Also I've heard that the flicker fusion rate for parrots is
> around 170Hz. Thus a light flickering between 10,000 and
> 45,000Hz should appear solid & less bothersome for them &
> for me. But high frequency humming could be very bothersome
> to them perhaps.
>
> So...
>
> 1. What is the hearing range of parrots, such as of the
> Quaker Parrot, and of the Timneh African Grey parrot, and
> for corvids? Has anyone tested to see if they can hear or
> are sensitive to any sounds from say 10KHz through 45KHz? I
> have no corvids (crow family birds) right now, but who knows
> about the future (perhaps an African Pied Crow or a smaller
> exotic jay), but I do have parrots.
>
> 2. Which electronic ballasts suitable for use with T12 size
> (ie: fat - normal - common sized) 40 watt (48 inch)
> florescent bulbs are verifiably quiet? A sound rating of "A"
> may not sufficiently address whether the ballasts are
> verifiably quiet. They may be humming outside my hearing
> range, but not outside the range of my birds.
>
> 3. Which electronic ballasts work at about a 15KHz, instead
> of 25 or 45. The reason I ask this is because if I have a
> 15KHz ballast or a 10KHz one, if it hums I could then hear
> it myself & then determine whether the ballast was crap & to
> get another one. This may be a moot point if there's good
> answers for the other two points above.
>
> Note that I have several F40C50 type bulbs (to provide an
> approximation of daylight).
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jonathan Higbee
>
>
>
>
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| R |
"Liquid Memory" <liqbbs@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:fh2osvcjthu9g5i1j246gar8v057gdonjc@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 21:57:08 GMT, "jriegle" <jriegle@att.net> wrote:
>
> >> Considering how much noise birds make themselvss I can't believe they
> >> really care about low level noises in their envirironment. My macaws
> >> and amazons seem to sleep just as well with a TV on in the room as
> >> without.
> >> --
> >> Lou Boyd
> >>
> >
>
> My nanday conure complains when I turn off the tv at night, and when I
> turn it back on, she quiets down. Go figure.
>
> Tony
And your point is?
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