“At 3:40 this morning (sun rose at 4:09) a wood pewee sang over and over with perfect regularity a song of five drawling notes – pee-a-wee, pee-wee – both phrases ending on a rising inflection. The syllables and the pauses between them were so regular that I could time by my breathing. Pee-a-wee corresponded exactly with an inspiration, then, with a short pause the pee-wee finished at the end of expiration. Then a longer pause – just as long as the rests between breaths – and after this he repeated his song with my next breath. I was breathing, I suppose, about 16 times a minute, and the bird slowly fell behind, but he fell behind not from any irregularity, but because his rate was slightly lower than mine.”
-Arthur Clevland Bent
“Life Histories of North American Flycatchers, Larks, Swallows, and their Allies”
“Eastern Wood Pewee”
Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF400mm f/5.6L USM lens, ISO 640, f/5.6, 1/500 sec
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 