[2] Payne spent the early years of his career studying echolocation in bats (and how their food, moths, avoid them) and auditory localization in owls.
He and fellow researcher Scott McVay in 1967 discovered the complex sonic arrangements performed by male humpback whales during the breeding season.
[8][5] Payne subsequently led many expeditions on the world's oceans studying whales, their migrations, cultures and vocalizations.
[10][11] In 1975 a second LP was released, and in 1987 Payne collaborated with musician Paul Winter in combining whalesong with human music.
[12][13] Whale recordings by Frank Watlington (with commentary by Payne) were released on a flexi disc soundsheet inside the January 1979 National Geographic magazine.
He wrote, "As my time runs out, I am possessed with the hope that humans worldwide are smart enough and adaptable enough to put the saving of other species where it belongs: at the top of the list of our most important jobs.