I got the following information from Dolphins by Tim Cahill.
| Signal/Behavior | Potential Meaning |
|---|---|
| Rubbing Bodies | Affection or affiliation, strengthening social bonds, reaffirming relationships, quieting an excited peer(usually a youngster). |
| Pectoral fin to pectoral fin rub | A greeting btween 2 dolphins. |
| Pectoral fin to side of peduncle | A solicitation for a favor or help sometime in the near future(contact position). |
| Hits, rams, slams, bites | Usually irritation or agression from older dolphins but when accompanied by soft angles of approach these are playful. |
| Melon to genital contact | When a mom and her calf are swimming in echelon, the calf will often touch her gential area with its melon maybe indicating it wants to nurse. If the mom initiates contact then maybe it is telling the calf to nurse. |
| Whistles | Often dolphins produce a stereotypic whistle that is usually called a "signature" whistle. We now know this is used for mantaining contact among individuals |
| Chirps | Short in lengths sounds that resemble the soud of bird chrips, these sounds may signal a dolphin's emotions...sort of an "okay" message. |
| Click trains | Short pulsed vocalizations of high and wide-band frequency that are used to investigate objects or search for fish. Often these sound like creaky old doors opened slowly and ahve been called echolocation. |
| Squawks | Pulzed vocalizations that sound like "squawks" and are very high in repetition rate. The are used mostly in fights or during play with younger dolphins and may signal irritation or anger. |
| Bubble stream or trail | A stream or trail of little bubbles that escape from a dolphin's blowhole...often seen from young dolphins during excited and playful swimming |
| Bubble clouds | Large pockets of air from the dolphin blowhole("clouds") that are used to express anger or warning. They may also be as a "shield" from another dolphin's harsh vocalizations |
The vocalizations of an orca doorway to a human have not understood.
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