I agree with Zac. I also think you’re misunderstanding the physics involved, and you’re underestimating the researchers doing this research.
The mixed codas seem like strong evidence against this view
No, I don’t think they are.
The fact is, the whales can produce multiple clicks with different spectral patterns. This is in quick succession so it’s not a change of orientation. The patterns can vary so it’s not a fixed mechanical thing. Therefore it comes from some mechanism of adjustment between clicks, which could be adjusted by muscles. So your whole thesis is off.
Intraclick and intracoda are very different timescales from a quick Google. Intra-click would indeed be ms-scale, but intra-coda seems like it would be 10s or 100s of ms, which is well within possibility.
I think the stronger evidence that it’s false comes from the fact that the two vowels differ in undertones rather than overtones, which is unlike human vowels (not sure about bird vowels).
I agree with Zac. I also think you’re misunderstanding the physics involved, and you’re underestimating the researchers doing this research.
No, I don’t think they are.
The fact is, the whales can produce multiple clicks with different spectral patterns. This is in quick succession so it’s not a change of orientation. The patterns can vary so it’s not a fixed mechanical thing. Therefore it comes from some mechanism of adjustment between clicks, which could be adjusted by muscles. So your whole thesis is off.
The intraclick and intracoda “adjustment by muscles” is precisely what I’m disputing.
Intraclick and intracoda are very different timescales from a quick Google. Intra-click would indeed be ms-scale, but intra-coda seems like it would be 10s or 100s of ms, which is well within possibility.
I think the stronger evidence that it’s false comes from the fact that the two vowels differ in undertones rather than overtones, which is unlike human vowels (not sure about bird vowels).
As I noted elsewhere in these comments, the intracoda timescale is borderline as well, and would rival human abilities. A huge claim.
I hadn’t considered the overtone issue. I need to think about that…