Bald eagles have tinny, tinkly voices, all out of character with the appearance of that iconic species. Not majestic at all.
So, in movies, eagles voices are dubbed. Typical Hollywood.
Eagles in movies sound exactly like Red-tailed Hawks, for good reason — that hawk is Hollywood's bird voice of choice. A fading Red-tail scream is supposed tp add dramatic atmosphere to whatever.
I have this fantasy where I become a bird-call expert for film makers. There also is need for someone to simply match bird images with movie locations. (I could do it all from home.)
Eagles are movie favorites. They are heard wheeling above just about any landscape type. There are birders who pay attention, and keep track. (Birders find many reasons to make a list.)
Loons are audio markers for wilderness, anywhere. Actual range not to matter.
Whip-poor-wills have a call that can set a scene, sort of spooky. Gotta watch time of day, however. Whips are birds of (spooky) darkness.
Sandhill Crane, with one of best bird voices of all time when it comes to atmosphere, has helped set the stage in dinosaur movies. An ancient species, those cranes, but maybe not dinosaur-ancient.
Chuck-will's-widow was calling in the movie "On Golden Pond," a New England story. This southeastern species would have brightened New England bird lists. This is a place where Whip-poor-will would have been the better choice.
Movies show people looking through binoculars, but never the bird in question. Better to choose a glitzy species, location not to matter.
Film directors and sound editors either don't know what they are doing or don't care. But, who knows except obsessed birders?
It is another list, if you wish. (TV counts.)
