Comment on "a standardized method of classifying pulsed sounds and its application to pulse rate measurement of blue whale southeast Pacific song units" [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 146, 2145-2154 (2019)]

Patris, Malige, Glotin, Asch, and Buchan [(2019). Acoust. Soc. Am. 146, 2145-2154] proposed a technique for classifying and describing pulsed sounds produced by whales that can improve the precision and objectivity of acoustic measurements from song units. Their analyses revealed that blue whales produce units at precise pulse rates. The structure and precision of the song phrase they describe is remarkably similar to what is seen in song production by chickadees. In both species, precise control of shifts in pulse rate may produce reverberation-related cues that enable listeners to localize singers. The techniques developed by Patris and colleagues thus can provide more accurate measures as well as insights into how animals produce and use songs.