Editing Orca (section)

===Vocalizations===
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|title = Orca calls
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|title2 = Orca calls at a distance
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|title3 = Vocalizations of an orca
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{{See also|Whale vocalization{{!}}Whale sound}}
Like all [[cetaceans]], orcas depend heavily on underwater sound for orientation, feeding, and communication. They produce three categories of sounds: clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. Clicks are believed to be used primarily for navigation and discriminating prey and other objects in the surrounding environment, but are also commonly heard during social interactions.<ref name=noaa/>

Northeast Pacific resident groups tend to be much more vocal than transient groups in the same waters.{{sfn|NMFS|2005|p=20}} Residents feed primarily on [[Chinook salmon|Chinook]] and [[Chum salmon|chum]] salmon, which are insensitive to orca calls (inferred from the audiogram of Atlantic salmon). In contrast, the [[marine mammal]] prey of transients hear whale calls well and thus transients are typically silent.{{sfn|NMFS|2005|p=20}} Vocal behaviour in these whales is mainly limited to surfacing activities and milling (slow swimming with no apparent direction) after a kill.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Deeck|first1= V. B.|last2=Ford|first2= J. K. B.|last3=Slater|first3= P. J. B.|year=2005|title=The vocal behaviour of mammal-eating killer whales: communicating with costly calls|journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=69|issue=2|pages=395–405|doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.04.014|s2cid=16899659}}</ref>

All members of a resident pod use similar calls, known collectively as a [[dialect]]. Dialects are composed of specific numbers and types of discrete, repetitive calls. They are complex and stable over time.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Foote|first1= A. D.|last2=Osborne|first2= R. W.|last3=Hoelzel|first3= A.|year=2008|title=Temporal and contextual patterns of killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') call type production|journal=Ethology|volume=114|issue=6|pages=599–606|doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01496.x|bibcode= 2008Ethol.114..599F}}</ref> Call patterns and structure are distinctive within matrilines.<ref name=vocal/> Newborns produce calls similar to their mothers, but have a more limited repertoire.{{sfn|NMFS|2005|p=14}} Individuals likely learn their dialect through contact with pod members.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Filatova|first1= Olga A.|last2=Fedutin|first2= Ivan D.|last3=Burdin|first3= Alexandr M.|last4=Hoyt|first4= Erich|year=2007|url=http://russianorca.com/Doc/Science/structure_repert.pdf|title=The structure of the discrete call repertoire of killer whales ''Orcinus orca'' from Southeast Kamchatka|journal=Bioacoustics|volume=16|pages=261–280|doi=10.1080/09524622.2007.9753581|issue=3|bibcode= 2007Bioac..16..261F|s2cid=56304541|access-date=February 23, 2010|archive-date=July 15, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715214729/http://russianorca.com/Doc/Science/structure_repert.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Family-specific calls have been observed more frequently in the days following a calf's birth, which may help the calf learn them.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.coloradocollege.edu/dept/ev/Research/Faculty/OVALItems/pdf_Papers/SpongCalvesPaper.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527060306/http://www.coloradocollege.edu/dept/ev/Research/Faculty/OVALItems/pdf_Papers/SpongCalvesPaper.pdf |archive-date=May 27, 2011 |last1=Weiß |first1=Brigitte M. |journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America |volume=119 |last2=Ladich |issue=1 |first2=Friedrich |last3=Spong |first3=Paul |last4=Symonds |first4=Helena |year=2006 |pmid=16454316 |title=Vocal behaviour of resident killer whale matrilines with newborn calves: The role of family signatures |doi=10.1121/1.2130934 |pages=627–635 |bibcode=2006ASAJ..119..627W |url-status=dead }}</ref> Dialects are probably an important means of maintaining group identity and cohesiveness. Similarity in dialects likely reflects the degree of relatedness between pods, with variation growing over time.{{sfn|NMFS|2005|pp=15–16}} When pods meet, dominant call types decrease and subset call types increase. The use of both call types is called biphonation. The increased subset call types may be the distinguishing factor between pods and inter-pod relations.<ref name=vocal>{{cite journal|author=Kremers|first1= D.|last2=Lemasson|first2= A.|last3=Almunia|first3= J.|last4=Wanker|first4= R.|year=2012|title=Vocal sharing and individual acoustic distinctiveness within a group of captive orcas (''Orcinus orca'')|journal=Journal of Comparative Psychology|volume=126|issue=4|pages=433–445|doi=10.1037/a0028858|pmid=22866769}}</ref>

Dialects also distinguish types. Resident dialects contain seven to 17 (mean = 11) distinctive call types. All members of the North American west coast transient community express the same basic dialect, although minor regional variation in call types is evident. Preliminary research indicates offshore orcas have group-specific dialects unlike those of residents and transients.{{sfn|NMFS|2005|pp=15–16}}

Norwegian and Icelandic [[herring]]-eating orcas appear to have different vocalizations for activities like hunting.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Simon|first1= M.|last2=McGregor|first2= P. K.|last3=Ugarte|first3= F.|year=2007|title=The relationship between the acoustic behaviour and surface activity of killer whales (''Orcinus orca'') that feed on herring (''Clupea harengus'')|journal=Acta Ethologica|volume=10|issue=2|pages=47–53|doi=10.1007/s10211-007-0029-7|s2cid=29828311}}</ref> A population that live in [[McMurdo Sound]], [[Antarctica]] have 28 complex burst-pulse and whistle calls.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newatlas.com/science/smallest-killer-whale-large-musical-repertoire/|title=The smallest killer whale has a large musical repertoire|last=Szondy|first=David|date=February 26, 2020|website=New Atlas|language=en-US|url-status=live|access-date=February 27, 2020|archive-date=February 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227234559/https://newatlas.com/science/smallest-killer-whale-large-musical-repertoire/}}</ref>