Need help. Cannot wordify this one. Some quick background---I'm not published, not trying to get published. I just write for my own fun. This is to say "don't work too hard on this one." I have a character that is ...er, a shapeshifter. It's in the form of a rather large wyvern type creature. I'm trying to describe the sound of its standard-issue call. I don't want to post the actual video here, but there's a video on youtube that is awfully close to what I want. If you search for "First Gryphon Ride - World of Warcraft" posted by "Richard Leake", you'll hear the sound I'm thinking of right at about 30 seconds. I've been through a library of animal sounds and can't find something close to this. It's not really a roar. It sounds like a complex, meaty wheeze, but I want a bit more of a straightforward description. My sister says "it's a 'gronk'". Even though I'm not intending to publish, I have some standards, and "gronk"....sorry. Nope. Is there an animal I'm not thinking of that sounds close to this? Thanks in advance for the brainz.
It kinda makes me think of some of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, specifically a cough/barking sound the raptors made. A JP wiki says: Have you looked into those animals? As far as onomatopoeia goes I'd probably call it a hreh. It's definitely sort of a hoarse, sharp bark. eta: Maybe 'chuff'?
Thanks muchly for the help! Nah, not looking for onomatopoeia. The walrus is a possibility I think.... I'm thinking more of what words would you use. For example in one section I have this: ....there was a large, dark hissing sound that changed to a kind of growl, so deep it was practically toneless, a series of deep, heavy, rapid clicks in the back of a large throat. That's the type of description I'm thinking of, but the sound being described there is different from the one in the video. The one in the video is what I'm generally aiming for, if a little deeper.
To me it sounded like a wheezing roar from a lion with a sore throat. But maybe just a wheezing roar will do.