Squawks, or short

wheeze A wheeze is a clinical symptom of a continuous, coarse, whistling sound produced in the respiratory airways during breathing. For wheezes to occur, part of the respiratory tree must be narrowed or obstructed (for example narrowing of the lower ...

s, are brief, "squeaky" sounds; they are also referred to as squeaks. Their waveforms show a

sinusoidal A sine wave, sinusoidal wave, or sinusoid (symbol: ∿) is a periodic wave whose waveform (shape) is the trigonometric sine function. In mechanics, as a linear motion over time, this is '' simple harmonic motion''; as rotation, it correspond ...

pattern with a duration 10 to 100 ms and a frequency between 200 and 800 Hz. Many birds have made sounds which are onomatopoeically described as "squawk". Squawks have been described in bird fancier's disease and other forms of

hypersensitivity pneumonitis Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) or extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA) is a syndrome caused by the repetitive inhalation of antigens from the environment in susceptible or sensitized people. Common antigens include molds, bacteria, bird droppin ...

. In humans, squawks are also heard in a variety of conditions in which alveolitis is present. In one study they were found in 10% of patients with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

.Paciej R, Vyshedskiy A, Bana D, Murphy R, Squawks in pneumonia, Thorax 2004;59:177–179

References

{{Respiratory system symptoms and signs Symptoms and signs: Respiratory system Bird sounds Onomatopoeia