parrot & corvid hearing range & sounds from electronic ballasts for flourescent lights

[Jonathan Higbee]

I have some questions about the hearing range of parrots &
corvids (crow family birds), and suitable lighting so as to
avoid bothering them with flickering and high frequency hum.
If you can answer any of these questions please reply.

Here is the reason for my wondering:

I am considering switching all my bird room florescent
lights from magnetic to electronic ballasts. This is because
I know the birds can detect flicker at a higher rate than I
can, but I can still detect the flicker as well (from some
my crappier fixtures).

Electronic ballasts for florescent lights reportedly can
emit a hum, and presumably that hum would be between 10,000
and 45,000 hertz (since that's the rate at which they flash
the lights - as compared to a flicker rate of 30-100Hz for
magnetic ballasts).

Also I've heard that the flicker fusion rate for parrots is
around 170Hz. Thus a light flickering between 10,000 and
45,000Hz should appear solid & less bothersome for them &
for me. But high frequency humming could be very bothersome
to them perhaps.

So...

1. What is the hearing range of parrots, such as of the
Quaker Parrot, and of the Timneh African Grey parrot, and
for corvids? Has anyone tested to see if they can hear or
are sensitive to any sounds from say 10KHz through 45KHz? I
have no corvids (crow family birds) right now, but who knows
about the future (perhaps an African Pied Crow or a smaller
exotic jay), but I do have parrots.

2. Which electronic ballasts suitable for use with T12 size
(ie: fat - normal - common sized) 40 watt (48 inch)
florescent bulbs are verifiably quiet? A sound rating of "A"
may not sufficiently address whether the ballasts are
verifiably quiet. They may be humming outside my hearing
range, but not outside the range of my birds.

3. Which electronic ballasts work at about a 15KHz, instead
of 25 or 45. The reason I ask this is because if I have a
15KHz ballast or a 10KHz one, if it hums I could then hear
it myself & then determine whether the ballast was crap & to
get another one. This may be a moot point if there's good
answers for the other two points above.

Note that I have several F40C50 type bulbs (to provide an
approximation of daylight).

Sincerely,

Jonathan Higbee

 

[Victor Roberts]

I have some questions about the hearing range of parrots &
corvids (crow family birds), and suitable lighting so as to
avoid bothering them with flickering and high frequency hum.
If you can answer any of these questions please reply.

Here is the reason for my wondering:

I am considering switching all my bird room florescent
lights from magnetic to electronic ballasts. This is because
I know the birds can detect flicker at a higher rate than I
can, but I can still detect the flicker as well (from some
my crappier fixtures).

Electronic ballasts for florescent lights reportedly can
emit a hum, and presumably that hum would be between 10,000
and 45,000 hertz (since that's the rate at which they flash
the lights - as compared to a flicker rate of 30-100Hz for
magnetic ballasts).

Also I've heard that the flicker fusion rate for parrots is
around 170Hz. Thus a light flickering between 10,000 and
45,000Hz should appear solid & less bothersome for them &
for me. But high frequency humming could be very bothersome
to them perhaps.

First, I know nothing about parrots. I do know something about
electronic ballasts.

Most electronic ballasts for conventional fluorescent lamps operate
between 20kHz and 100kHz. I don't know of any operating at or near
10kHz because humans can hear at that frequency. Many modern
electronic ballasts operate above 60kHz to avoid interference with IR
remote controls.

While there may be some "hum" at the ballast operating frequency, when
people talk about audible noise from an electronic ballast they are
talking about 120Hz hum generated either in the power supply section
of the ballast, or in the high frequency section due to a poorly
filtered DC power supply that allows the high frequency output to be
modulated by a 120Hz signal. This same problem will create 120Hz
modulation of the light output. This modulation will not be as severe
as it is with a fluorescent lamp operating from a 60Hz magnetic
ballast, but there could be some observable 120Hz ripple in the light
output from lamp operated with some electronic ballasts.

There is no list of ballasts that shows how much 120Hz hum or ripple
they have. Some people in this group have personal experience with
specific ballast types of manufacturers, and I am sure you will hear
their horror stories. However, the only way to really tell if a
ballast is quiet enough for your application is to get one or more
samples and test them.

 

[Louis Boyd]

I have some questions about the hearing range of parrots &
corvids (crow family birds), and suitable lighting so as to
avoid bothering them with flickering and high frequency hum.
If you can answer any of these questions please reply.

Here is the reason for my wondering:

I am considering switching all my bird room florescent
lights from magnetic to electronic ballasts. This is because
I know the birds can detect flicker at a higher rate than I
can, but I can still detect the flicker as well (from some
my crappier fixtures).

Electronic ballasts for florescent lights reportedly can
emit a hum, and presumably that hum would be between 10,000
and 45,000 hertz (since that's the rate at which they flash
the lights - as compared to a flicker rate of 30-100Hz for
magnetic ballasts).

Also I've heard that the flicker fusion rate for parrots is
around 170Hz. Thus a light flickering between 10,000 and
45,000Hz should appear solid & less bothersome for them &
for me. But high frequency humming could be very bothersome
to them perhaps.

So...

1. What is the hearing range of parrots, such as of the
Quaker Parrot, and of the Timneh African Grey parrot, and
for corvids? Has anyone tested to see if they can hear or
are sensitive to any sounds from say 10KHz through 45KHz? I
have no corvids (crow family birds) right now, but who knows
about the future (perhaps an African Pied Crow or a smaller
exotic jay), but I do have parrots.

2. Which electronic ballasts suitable for use with T12 size
(ie: fat - normal - common sized) 40 watt (48 inch)
florescent bulbs are verifiably quiet? A sound rating of "A"
may not sufficiently address whether the ballasts are
verifiably quiet. They may be humming outside my hearing
range, but not outside the range of my birds.

3. Which electronic ballasts work at about a 15KHz, instead
of 25 or 45. The reason I ask this is because if I have a
15KHz ballast or a 10KHz one, if it hums I could then hear
it myself & then determine whether the ballast was crap & to
get another one. This may be a moot point if there's good
answers for the other two points above.

Note that I have several F40C50 type bulbs (to provide an
approximation of daylight).

Sincerely,

Jonathan Higbee

If you're really worried about it use halogen incandescents and run them
on filtered DC. No EMI emissions that way either.

Alternatives would include mounting the ballasts some distance from the
lamps where even if the do emit acoustic noise it won't be in the room
with your birds. Another is to put acoustic insulation around the
ballasts. Stopping sound above 10khz doesn't take much insulation.

Considering how much noise birds make themselvss I can't believe they
really care about low level noises in their envirironment. My macaws
and amazons seem to sleep just as well with a TV on in the room as
without.

 

[jriegle]

If you're really worried about it use halogen incandescents and run them
on filtered DC. No EMI emissions that way either.

Alternatives would include mounting the ballasts some distance from the
lamps where even if the do emit acoustic noise it won't be in the room
with your birds. Another is to put acoustic insulation around the
ballasts. Stopping sound above 10khz doesn't take much insulation.

If you put insulation arounf the ballast, be sure that it can dissapate it's
heat properly.

 

[Rich Peet]

I have made some inquiries in the past on the sound range of birds.
From the research people I have spoken with it seems to compare pretty close
to people for the frequency response. I forgot to ask if the large parrots
have a similar structure as frogs so that they don't go deaf with very loud
calls.

From my observations the highest pitch bird I have recorded is about
13,000hz. My Quaker has no problem hearing it. My Quaker does not respond
to my lowest pitch bird recording at all, 28hz-75hz. But as explained by
Bernie Krause, this low pitched bird is not in the Quakers niche and so
doesn't care as much. see: http://www.wildsanctuary.com/niche.pdf

As far as light freq response I do not know. A lecture I attended on avian
vision was more centered on the difference in number and size of focal
points within a birds eye. But most parrot owners have already figured out
when their birds are looking at them and know that stuff.


Rich Peet