During spring an event occurs that lightens our moods and increases our awe for the natural world. We are talking about the dawn chorus. Before the sun hits the horizon at the start of the day, a multitude of birds begin to call. It’s a marvellous sound to hear but it leads us to ask, why do birds sing?
Communication
Calling and singing are ways for birds to communicate in a range of situations. Some vocalisations will be intended for relatives, some for individuals of the same species and some for completely different species of birds or animals.
When birds open their beaks to sing, they’re essentially killing two birds with one stone. They sing to attract a mate and defend their territory. From our point of view, a song is a lovely way to do this but it is also effective. After all, in order to sing well and compete with rival birds, a bird needs to be healthy.
Birds use different vocalisations for separate purposes though. Their territorial song may differ in volume and mood to their ‘attracting-a-mate’ song. These are not the only calls that birds use for communication either.
Beyond the Song
You may find on occasion that as you sit down with a nice cup of tea, you’re disturbed by an uproar of panicked noise arising in the garden. This noise has probably erupted in reaction to a predator. When it comes to danger, birds often screech in a manner that alerts any species to the problem. If a sparrowhawk appears, birds will make each other aware of its presence and then flee to the closest cover. If a cat turns up in the garden, the birds are more likely to call loudly from nearby branches to ensure that the cat knows it’s been spotted. This ruins the cat’s chances of catching anything as it relies on careful stalking to approach prey.
How Do Birds Sing?
In order to create their intricate songs, birds use something called a syrinx. It’s located at the base of the windpipe and utilises the air from the lungs to create sound. The variety of notes they produce are controlled by flexible muscles, labia and an adjustable windpipe. The different elements within and around the syrinx work together to make sounds ranging from alarm calls to elaborate songs. The structure of the syrinx can differ between varying species. Some birds have the ability to effectively sing a ‘duet’ with themselves as they produce two different notes at once by using the two bronchi.
To hear some of the fabulous songs created by birds, listen to our recordings of the dawn chorus in our video below.
Further Information
Check out the way that the syrinx works by watching this animation on The Cornell Lab’s website.
https:.academy.allaboutbirds.org/features/birdsong/how-birds-sing
Comments
We love to know your thoughts on our articles so greatly appreciate you taking the time to comment. We may be unable to reply directly but are in the process of creating a FAQs page to answer any questions. All comments are currently checked before they’re posted so they do not appear immediately on the website.
Thank you for visiting www.embracenatureuk.com!