The fisrt record of bird song recording was by Ludwig Koch in
1889. At the time Ludwig was eight years old. He recorded the
Indian Shama, a member of the Thrush family. Many years later
after Dr. Koch moved to Britain from Germany he worked with
E.M Nicholson. E.M Nicholson became the director of the
Nature Conservancy creating the book “Songs of Wild Birds.
Dr. Koch’s sound recordings became the base for the BBC’s
natural history library. As you can imagine the
recording equipment at that time was very cumbersome.
Communication of Bird Songs and Calls
With all the ways birds communicate sound is probably the
most important. Because birds do not have a strong sense of smell they
rely on vision and sound. Sound is ideal for low light or
over long distances.
Basic Difference between Songs and Calls
Songs
Songs are more musical and complex then calls. Songs are usually only produced by the male. With most birds the
song can be associated with breeding. The male is singing to
find a mate and to claim and protect his territory. Social
bonding of pairs may also be aided with songs.
Male songbirds may do what is known as countersigning
during territorial disputes. In this contest each bird will
match the other bird's song types. One bird famous for this
is the Marsh Wren.
Some songbirds are known for imitating the sounds of other
birds and animals. Mockingbirds
will even imitate machinery. European Starlings,
Catbirds, and Thrashers are imitators. Blue
Jays will imitate the call of a hawk.
Calls
Calls are usually not as musical. Birds use calls to
communicate many things to each other and between members of
a flock or family. There are calls for aggression, warning,
identification, flocking, hunger, to announce a food source
and many others. Many species will have calls that specify a
certain type of predator in the area.
Although calls are used for communication, that communication
is in the present. Here is an example of what I mean. You may
tell a friend you left your keys at his house yesterday.
Birds have not developed the mental capacity for this, and
can only communicate something happening right now such as a
warning call.
Learning to Recognize Bird Sounds
Many people buy tapes or CDs of bird sounds, both for
enjoyment and to learn the different songs. Click here
for a good selection of bird
songs on CDs.
The more ways you have to identify a bird the more you
will enjoy and the more success you will have at bird
watching.
Their colorful plumage makes most birds easy to identify if
you can get a good look at them. If the birds are in the
brush, a long distance away, or in poor light it is more
difficult. Many bird watchers learn to identify bird shapes and silhouettes as
well as sounds.
The best place to start learning birdcalls is in your back
yard. If you walk through a wooded area there may be such a
stream of different calls it is hard to pick one out. By
observing the birds in your back yard and listening to their
calls you can learn to pick them out in a forest or wooded
area. This combined with the shapes can make your birding
experience more fun and rewarding.
In addition to listening to them in your back yard there are
many tapes of birdcalls you can buy. Check specialty shops
and bookstores. You can also find sounds online for almost
any bird. Check the sound search engine
link below.
Sound Production
Birds have a sound-producing organ called the Syrnx. The
Syrnix is near the bottom of their windpipe, where it divides
into the main bronchial tubes that lead to the lungs. The
membranes are like the skin of a drum and vibrate as air is
pushed out through them. Pairs of muscles control the tension
on the membranes to change the sound characteristics. The
number and complexity of these muscles vary with different
species, and if fact between male and female. Not
surprisingly these are more evolved in songbirds.
Birds Hearing is also Important.
Their hearing is much the same as ours. One big advantage is
that they have developed sense of time resolution, which is
about 10 times better than ours. What does this mean? Several
separate notes in sequence may sound to us like one long
note. Because of their time resolution ability they hear the
note separated into the smaller segments. This allows more
information to be communicated. One way to visualize this is
to compare it to a piece of movie film. When run through a
projector we can’t see the separation. Scientists today use
sound spectrographs to study these.
Below is both the sound and visual image of a simple Robin
chirp. It sounds to us like two notes. In the
image you can see the separation that birds can hear. Hear Robin Chirp If your browser will not let
you use this sound link, the Robin Chirp is the last on in the drop
down list below.
Other sounds
There of course sounds other than songs or calls. Here are
a few:
Drumming of a Woodpecker Woodpeckers and Grouse both use
drumming to claim a territory and attract a mate, just like
Songbirds use their song. Grouse beat their wings to make the
sound. Woodpeckers have specialized bills and neck
muscles for hammering on tree trunks. In addition to drilling
holes they use this to send sound signals.
Note on some browsers you will not be able to see or use the
drop down sound list. If you can't use it try the sound
links below.
The Common Snipe will climb high in sky then dive down at a
slant with its tail feathers spread. The air rushing through
will cause the outer feathers to vibrate creating a drumming
sound. It has been described as a siren or bleating
sound. Owls and Herons snap their bills to show
aggression or if alarmed.
Most of the pages about specific birds on the All-Birds
website have samples of the particular birds song or call.
Click here for Backyard
Favorites and their sounds.
To find other bird sounds use this fun search engine.
You can type in the name of almost any bird and it will
give you a list of sound files. Along with each sound
displayed there will be a visual display of the sound such as
the one shown here.
To visit individual bird pages on this site and hear their
songs and calls visit Backyard
Favorites to find the bird your interested in.
Birds Songs and Calls
If your browser will not let
you use this sound link, the Robin Chirp is the last on in the drop
down list below.
