How and Why Birds Sing
2. Birds sing to defend and impress
For a bird, singing can be draining. It is both energetically expensive and alerts predators. So then why do birds sing? Evidence suggests that in part, it is to proclaim and defend their territories territories: in birds, the areas defended by males, pairs, or families as dedicated nesting sites and/or foraging areas. Studies have also shown that songs play a crucial role in attracting and impressing potential mates and may signal the overall health of the singer. As in humans, singing in birds is often a chance to show off.
Eastern Meadowlarks mark territory with song
3. Their repertoires include songs and calls
Why are some bird sounds referred to as songs and others as calls? Typically a song is defined as a relatively structured vocalization produced while attracting a mate or defending a territory. Calls tend to be shorter, less rhythmic sounds used to communicate a nearby threat or an individual’s location. Each species and individual has a variety of songs and calls used in different contexts that together make up its repertoire repertoire: the full range of sounds that an animal makes, each used in context to communicate specific messages. While the distinction between calls and songs is not always clear, it can be quite ear opening to explore the full repertoires of your favorite songbirds.
Common Yellowthroats sing and call
5. Songbirds are vocal gymnasts
The songbird syrinx syrinx: SEE-rinks the bird voice box, located at the branch point between the trachea and bronchi and containing vibrating tissues called labia, in songbirds capable of making two sounds at once via independent muscle control makes vocal gymnastics possible–for example the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a able to sweep through more notes than are on a piano keyboard in just a tenth of a second. Because each branch of the songbird syrinx is individually controlled, the cardinal can start its sweeping notes with one side of the syrinx and seamlessly switch to the other side without stopping for a breath, making them the envy of human vocalists everywhere.
Northern Cardinals switch sides of their syrinx
6. Some sing two notes at once
Unlike humans, birds produce vocal sounds using a syrinx syrinx: SEE-rinks the bird voice box, at the branch point between the trachea and bronchi and containing vibrating tissues called labia, in songbirds capable of making two sounds at once via independent muscle control. an organ located where the trachea splits into two bronchial tubes. In songbirds, each side of the syrinx is independently controlled, allowing birds to produce two unrelated pitches at once. Some birds even have the ability to sing rising and falling notes simultaneously, like the Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) in its final trill. We can only imagine what musical heights human vocalists could reach with abilities like that.