Click on the video clips below to listen to cetacean vocalisations and to view the associated spectrogram. A spectrogram is a time-varying spectral representation (forming an image) that shows how the frequency and amplitude of a signal varies with time. In some cases RainbowClick is used to display the sound files in preference to a spectrogram.
We will add more species and also clips of anthropogenic (man-made) sounds in the near future.
Some of the recordings have been sped up or slowed down to bring them within our own audible range, typically 20 to 20,000Hz.
For clarity it may be preferable to listen using headphones.
Killer whale Orcinus orca
Harbour porpoise Phocena phocena
Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus
False killer whale Pseudorca crassidens
Common dolphin Delphinus delphis
Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops
Blue whale Balaenoptera musculus
This recording has been sped up by a factor of 4. Blue whale vocalisations typically range from 10 to 40Hz.
Pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata
North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis
Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus
Risso’s dolphin Grampus griseus
Pilot whale Globicephala
Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae
Rough-toothed dolphin Steno bredanensis