A strange night a whistle has been listening for weeks in Vigo. They just found the culprit

There are phenomena whose sounds They challenge not only reason, but even the very perception of reality. One of them is remembered in Scotland Since the late 90s, a low frequency buzz that is heard in different enclaves and that in recent times he has returned strongly. In Spain something similar to this part happened in an area of ​​Vigo. Weeks with acute noise when the night that had altered the dream of the neighbors.

The problem is that they have just detected the “guilty”, and has a difficult solution.

The mystery had wings. It The Faro de Vigo had. For weeks, the neighborhood of Vigo’s journey and Aragón Street has lived in confusion and irritation because of an acute, intermittent and persistent beep that began at nightfall and repeated every two or three seconds until dawn. The initial suspicion fell to multipable guilty: a spoiled alarm after the blackout of April 29, a port of the port amplified by the wind, or even some damaged traffic light out of decibels.

The neighbors, unveiled and perplexed, mobilized to find the origin of the annoying sound, called 010, patrolled the streets in search of sound tracks and requested the intervention of the local police. In the end, neither industrial alarms nor port machinery: the author of the beep has turned out to be An unexpected creature and surprising, whose presence had gone unnoticed until then because of its historical silence and its expertise for camouflage.

Small and nocturnal. Yes, apparently, the Local Police, after inspecting the area and confirming that it was not any mechanical source, identified the person in charge: a European autillo (Otus Scops), one of the smallest raptors in Europe (does not exceed 20 cm in length or 100 grams of weight) whose song remembers a high frequency electronic whistle.

In fact and how I told the middle The biologist of SEO BirdLifeGustavo Ferreiro, the repetitive beep is part of the AVE mating ritual, which is in this time in an incubation phase. In other words: the autillo does not sing to bother, but to communicate its presence, claim territory and maintain the link with your partner during the breeding.

Invisibility. Although common in southern Pontevedra, his nightlife and his perfect camouflage among the trees make him an almost inhabitant invisible which can only be detected by your voice. In this caseHabitat’s choice was an urban environment with dense vegetation and old trees, which surround the Matías Park and a nearby abandoned house.

European Autillo

Survival paradoxes. The case also offers other readings. The paradoxical is that The European Autilloonce a rural bird, it is today forced to take refuge in urban environments due to the loss of biodiversity In the field. Agricultural intensification has eliminated large trees, essential for nesting, and the massive use of pesticides has decimated insect populations that are fed.

Thus, the natural habitat has degraded to such an extent that birds seek shelter in urban parks, where they can still find cavities and some food. This forced migration to the city is a reflection of the ecological decline in which the species is found, already included in The “vulnerable” category In the Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021. Thus, the presence of the Autillo in Vigo is not an isolated anomaly, but rather a symptom of a deep change in the distribution and behavior of many species affected by human pressure on ecosystems.

Endangered species. The case of the beep in Vigo demonstrates how a daily discomfort can actually be the life sign of an endangered species. What began as a sleep disturbance became an opportunity to reflect on coexistence between the city and nature. The case reminds others where the presence of cities ends up modifying the life of species. In fact, in Valencia something similar has happened With another copy.

EITHER In Icelandwhen the frailecillos season begins and humans hunt them and throw them through the cliffs (by A good reason). In this case, climate change and cities lights threaten the survival of birds. With the autillo, the loss of biodiversity is what is throwing them into such Obern Like cities.

That said, and if everything follows its course, the song will send for the neighbors in August, when the chicks and the priorities of the bird change from the courtship to the care.

Image | Counting stars, Frank Vassen

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