NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Bird song

Birdsong, often referred to as "nature’s music", is a series of high pitched squawks made by small feathered birds. Despite its apparent popularity in much of society, birdsong is in fact not a song - or for that matter music, either. Although some people believe it to be so, birdsong is actually just a random cacophony of various sounds cobbled together. Some cult movements have even gone so far as to suggest that birdsong had redeeming medical values, although to date there is no evidence of this. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 777 Ã— 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (1002 Ã— 773 pixel, file size: 448 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Date Photograph taken 2004-05-13 Author Malene Thyssen (User:Malene) Permission Dual license: GNU Free Documentation License, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 777 Ã— 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (1002 Ã— 773 pixel, file size: 448 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Date Photograph taken 2004-05-13 Author Malene Thyssen (User:Malene) Permission Dual license: GNU Free Documentation License, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Young people interacting within an ethnically diverse society. ... [[ For other uses, see Song (disambiguation). ... Avril Ramona Lavigne (born September 27, 1984, in Belleville, Ontario, Canada)[1] [2] is a Canadian-born singer. ... Inmates at Bedlam Asylum, as portrayed by William Hogarth Insanity, or madness, is a semi-permanent, severe mental disorder typically stemming from a form of mental illness. ... Hippies (singular hippie or sometimes hippy) were members of the 1960s counterculture movement who adopted a communal or nomadic lifestyle, renounced corporate nationalism and the Vietnam War, embraced aspects of Buddhism, Hinduism, and/or Native American religious culture, and were otherwise at odds with traditional middle class Western values. ...

Definition

The distinction between songs and calls is somewhat arbitrary. Ehrlich et al. say that songs are longer and more complex, and that calls tend to serve such functions as alarms or keeping members of a flock in contact, while songs claim territory and advertise for mates. Other authorities such as Howell (1994) make the distinction based on function, so that even short vocalisations such as those of pigeons are considered songs—and even non-vocal sounds such as the drumming of woodpeckers and the "winnowing" that snipes' wings make in display flight. Still other investigators say that song must have syllabic diversity and temporal regularity akin to the repetitive and transformative patterns which define music. A herd of Wildebeest A gaggle of Canada geese For other uses, see Herd (disambiguation). ... Genera Melanerpes Sphyrapicus Xiphidiopicus Dendropicos Dendrocopos Picoides Veniliornis Campethera Geocolaptes Dinopium Meiglyptes Hemicircus Micropternus Picus Mulleripicus Dryocopus Celeus Piculus Colaptes Campephilus Chrysocolaptes Reinwardtipicus Blythipicus Gecinulus Sapheopipo For other uses, see Woodpecker (disambiguation). ... Genera Coenocorypha Gallinago Lymnocryptes A Snipe is any of nearly 20 very similar wading bird species characterised by a very long slender bill and cryptic plumage. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ...

Bird song is best developed in the order Passeriformes. Most song is emitted by male rather than female birds. Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Families Many, see text A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. ...

Anatomy

The avian vocal organ is called the syrinx; it is a bony structure at the bottom of the trachea (unlike the larynx at the top of the mammalian trachea). The syrinx and sometimes a surrounding air sac resonate to vibrations that are made by membranes past which the bird forces air. It controls the pitch by changing the tension on the membranes and controls both pitch and volume by changing the force of exhalation. The bird can control the two sides of the trachea independently, which is how some species can produce two notes at once. Syrinx is the name for the vocal cords of birds. ... The trachea, or windpipe, is a tube that has a inner diameter of about 12mm and a length of about 10-12cm. ... Voicebox redirects here. ... Subclasses Allotheria* Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Order Docodonta (extinct) Prototheria Order Monotremata Theria Infraclass Trituberculata (extinct) Infraclass Marsupialia Infraclass Eutheria The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of young, from...

Learning

The songs of different species of birds vary, and are more or less characteristic of the species. In modern-day biology, bird song is typically analysed using acoustic spectroscopy. Species vary greatly in the complexity of their songs and in the number of distinct kinds of song they sing (up to 3000 in the Brown Thrasher); in some species, individuals vary in the same way. In a few species such as starlings and mockingbirds, songs imbed arbitrary elements learned in the individual's lifetime, a form of mimicry (though maybe better called "appropriation" [Ehrlich et al], as the bird doesn't pass for another species). In many species it appears that although the basic song is the same for all members of the species, young birds learn the details of their songs from their fathers, and this allows variations to build up over generations, a form of dialect. In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A spectrometer is an optical instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. ... Binomial name Toxostoma rufum (Linnaeus, 1758) The Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) is a common type of thrasher, part of a family of New World birds (Mimidae) that includes New World catbirds and mockingbirds. ... Genera Aplonis Mino Basilornis Sarcops Streptocitta Enodes Scissirostrum Sarroglossa Ampeliceps Gracula Acridotheres Leucopsar Sturnia Sturnus Creatophora Fregilupus (extinct) Necropsar (extinct) Coccycolius Lamprotornis Cinnyricinclus Spreo Cosmoparus Onychognathus Poeoptera Grafisia Speculipastor Neochicla Buphagus See also: Myna, Oxpecker Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. ... Genera Melanotis Mimodes Mimus Nesomimus Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds, often loudly and in rapid succession. ... A mimic is any species that has evolved to appear similar to another successful species in order to dupe predators into avoiding the mimic, or dupe prey into approaching the mimic. ... A dialect (from the Greek word Î´Î¹Î¬Î»ÎµÎºÏ„Î¿Ï‚, dialektos) is a variety of a language characteristic of a particular group of the languages speakers. ...

Birds learn songs early in life with subvocalizations that develop into renditions of adult songs. Zebra Finches, the most popular species used in birdsong research, develop a version of a familiar adult's song after 20 or more days from hatch. By around 35 days, the chick will have learned the adult song. By around 60 days rehearsal has begun to perfect the song, which after another 30 days, at sexual maturity, becomes crystallized (invariant). Binomial name Taeniopygia guttata Vieillot, 1817 The Zebra Finch, Taeniopygia guttata is the most common and familiar estrildid finch of Central Australia and ranges over most of the continent, avoiding only the cool moist south and the tropical far north. ...

Research indicates bird song is a form of motor learning that involves regions of the basal ganglia. Models of bird song motor learning are sometimes used as a model for how humans learn speech, and indeed they share many similarities, such as requiring teachers, practice, error-correction, and eventually becoming more difficult to learn after the bird or human reaches sexual maturity. Motor learning is the process of improving the smoothness and accuracy of movements. ... The basal ganglia are a group of nuclei in the brain interconnected with the cerebral cortex, thalamus and brainstem. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Researchers have hypothesized learned songs allow the development of more complex songs through cultural interaction, thus allowing intraspecies dialects that help birds stay with their own kind within a species, and it allows birds to adapt their songs to different acoustic environments. (Slater, 1989)

Neurology of song production and learning

Birdsong learning seems to occur somewhere along a set of discrete but interconnected nuclei, collectively called the song system. Many researchers believe that the high vocal center, the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA), and the area x may all play key roles. Area X is particularly interesting, as lesions in adult brains have no affect on song, while lesions during the period of song learning (the critical period) have drastic effects. The High Vocal Center (HVC) is a nucleus in the brain of the songbirds (order passeriformes) necessary for both the learning and the production of bird song. ...

Some cells in the song system accumulate testosterone, suggesting androgens might be involved in birdsong learning.

Birdsong production is generally thought to start at the nucleus uvaeformis of the thalamus with signals emanating along a pathway that terminates at the syrinx. The pathway from the thalamus leads to the interfacial nucleus of the nidopallium to the HVC, and then to RA, the dorso-lateral division of the medial thalamus and to the tracheosyringeal nerve. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Disruptions along the learning pathway (including area x) between 20 and 60 days of a finch's life (the critical period) permanently damages the bird's song, but has no effect if the same pathways were disrupted later in life. Disruptions along the production pathways can always damage a bird's ability to sing.

Recent research in birdsong learning has focused on the area ventralis of Tsai, which produces dopamine to the paraolfactory lobe, the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (lMAN) and the ventrolateral medulla. Other researchers have explored the possibility that the high vocal center is responsible for syllable production, while the robust nucleus of the arcopallium, the primary song output nucleus, may be responsible for syllable sequencing and production of notes within a syllable. The High Vocal Center (HVC) is a nucleus in the brain of the songbirds (order passeriformes) necessary for both the learning and the production of bird song. ...

Language

The language of the birds has long been a topic for anecdote and speculation. Certain meanings, such as those of different types of calls by hens, have been taken as a matter of course [1]. Modern science has just begun to investigate this type of animal language. Researchers have described up to twenty-two different types of crow calls made under different circumstances. In a 2005 study by Chris Templeton et al. published in the journal Science, it was shown that the number of "dees" in a chick-a-dee call corresponds to the degree of danger that a predator poses (See Why Files overview). A language of the birds, a mystical, perfect or divine language, or a mythical or magical language used by birds to communicate with the initiated , is postulated in mythology, medieval literature and occultism. ... Animal language is the modeling of human language in non human animal systems. ...

Interestingly, the gene FOXP2, defects of which affect both speech and comprehension of language in humans, becomes more active in the striatal region of songbirds during the time of song learning [2]. FOXP2 (forkhead box P2) is a gene that is implicated in the development of language skills, including grammatical competence. ...

Transcriptions of bird songs

Many people have used words or nonsense syllables to represent bird vocalizations. Naturally these vary greatly; a well-known example is the White-throated Sparrow's song, given in Canada as O sweet Canada Canada Canada and in New England as Old Sam Peabody Peabody Peabody (also Where are you Frederick Frederick Frederick?). In addition to nonsense words, grammatically correct phrases have been constructed as likenesses of the vocalizations of birds. For example, the Barred Owl produces a motif which writers of bird guides interpret as "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?" (Sibley 2000) with the emphasis placed on "you." Binomial name Zonotrichia albicollis (Gmelin, 1789) The White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis, is a passerine bird of the American sparrow family Emberizidae. ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... Binomial name Strix varia Barton, 1799 The Barred Owl, Strix varia, is a large typical owl. ...

Nevertheless, some order may be found by referring to the scale of vowels. Low-frequency (back) vowels such as "oo" and "oh" usually represent low pitches, while high-frequency (front) vowels such as "ee" represent high pitches. The "w" sound is a glide from "oo" to a higher frequency, so a transcription such as tweet usually represents a rising pitch. Likewise the "y" sound is a glide from "ee" to a lower frequency, so yoo or tew usually represents a falling pitch. Transcriptions such as eer and ir also usually represent falling pitch, as does ow. Among consonants, s often represents an extremely high pitch and l a low pitch. A scale of vowels is an arrangement of vowels in order of perceived pitch. A scale used for poetry in American English lists the vowels by the frequency of the second formant (the higher of the two overtones that define a vowel sound). ... A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture of the vocal tract sufficient to cause audible turbulence. ...

For example, we could expect the call of the Whip-poor-will to be an upward glide that ends abruptly, followed by a low note, followed by one that glides upward and then back down. This is precisely what careful listening (as to the Real Audio file at this page) or sonic analysis shows. Binomial name Caprimulgus vociferus Wilson, 1812 The Whip-poor-will or whippoorwill, Caprimulgus vociferus, is a medium-sized (22-27 cm) nightjar, a type of nocturnal bird. ...

This method generally works only for whistles. Lower-pitched coos and squawks give the impression of vowels from their overtones, so the vowel gives little or no information about the fundamental frequency. Also, people's perceptions still vary greatly, even more if they speak different native languages, so one can't understand transcriptions with perfect reliability. The fundamental tone, often referred to simply as the fundamental, is the lowest frequency in a harmonic series. ...

Bird song and music

Musicologists believe that birdsong has had a large influence on the development of music.^[1] Although the extent of this influence is impossible to gauge, ^[2] it is sometimes easy to see some of the specific ways composers have integrated birdsong with music.

There seem to be three general ways musicians or composers can be affected by birdsong: they can be influenced or inspired (consciously or unconsciously) by birdsong, they can include intentional imitations of bird song in a composition, or they can incorporate recordings of birds into their works.

One early example of a composition that imitates birdsong is Janequin's Le Chant Des Oiseaux, written in the 16th century. Other composers who have quoted birds, or who have used birdsong as a compositional springboard, include Biber (Sonata Representativa), Beethoven (Sixth Symphony), Wagner (Siegfried) and jazz musicians Paul Winter (Flyway) and Jeff Silverbush (Grandma Mickey).[3] ClÃ©ment Janequin (c. ... Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (August 12, 1644 â€“ May 3, 1704) was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. ... Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized December 17, 1770 – March 26, 1827) was a German composer of Classical music, the predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. ... Wagner may refer to more than one place in the United States: Wagner, South Dakota Wagner, Wisconsin Wagner may refer to more than one person: Richard Wagner, German composer Cosima Wagner, daughter of Franz Liszt and wife of Richard Wagner Heinrich Leopold Wagner, dramatist and author John Peter Honus Wagner... Paul Winters Greatest Hits (1998) Paul Winter (born August 31, 1939 in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American saxophonist (alto and soprano saxophone). ...

Twentieth century French composer Olivier Messiaen deserves special mention, as he composed with birdsong extensively. His Catalogue d'Oiseaux is a seven-book set of solo piano pieces based upon birdsong. His orchestral piece Réveil des Oiseaux is composed almost entirely of birdsong. Many of his other compositions, including Quatuor pour la fin du temps, similarly integrate birdsong. ^[3] Olivier Messiaen It has been suggested that List of students of Olivier Messiaen be merged into this article or section. ... Quatuor pour la fin du temps, also known by its English title Quartet for the End of Time, is a piece of chamber music by the French composer Olivier Messiaen. ...

Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, with his The Pines of Rome (1923-1924), may have been the first to compose a piece of music that calls for the addition of pre-recorded birdsong. A few years later, Respighi wrote Gli Uccelli ("The birds"), based on Baroque pieces imitating birds. Ottorino Respighi (Bologna, July 9, 1879 - Rome, April 18, 1936) was an Italian composer, musicologist and violinist. ... Pini di Roma (Italian â€œPines of Romeâ€) is a 1924 work by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, and is considered one of the masterpieces of the Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems along with Feste Romane and Fontane di Roma. ...

Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara in 1972 wrote an orchestral piece of music called Cantus Arcticus (Opus 61, dubbed Concerto for Birds and Orchestra) making extensive use of pre-recorded birdsongs from arctic regions, such as migrating swans. Einojuhani Rautavaara (born October 9, 1928) is a Finnish composer of classical music, probably the best known Finnish composer of his generation. ...

American jazz musician Eric Dolphy sometimes listened to birds while he practiced flute. He claimed to have incorporated bird song into some of his improvisational music. Eric Allan Dolphy (June 20, 1928 â€“ June 29, 1964) was a jazz musician who played alto saxophone, flute and bass clarinet. ...

In the psychedelic era of the 1960's and 1970's, many rock bands included sound effects in their recordings. Birds were a popular choice. The English band Pink Floyd included bird sound effects in many of the songs from their 1969 albums More and Ummagumma (see, for example, the song Cirrus Minor). Similarly, the English singer Kate Bush incorporated bird sound effects into much of the music on her 2005 album, Aerial. The word psychedelic is a neologism coined from the Greek words for mind, ÏˆÏ…Ï‡Î· (psyche), and manifest, Î´Î·Î»ÎµÎ¹Î½ (delein). ... Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of movies, video games, music, or other media. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music, and, as they evolved, for their avant-garde progressive rock music. ... Music from the Film More (often referred to simply as More) is Pink Floyds first full-length film soundtrack. ... Ummagumma is a progressive and psychedelic double album by Pink Floyd released in 1969. ... Cirrus Minor is a song written and performed by the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. ... Kate Bush (born Catherine Mary Bush 30 July 1958, Bexleyheath, Kent, now part of Greater London), is an English female solo singer and musician. ... Kate Bushs eighth studio album, Aerial, is a two-disc set released on November 7, 2005. ...

Music hall artist Ronnie Ronalde, has gained notoriety for his whistling imitations of birds and for integrating birdsong with human song. His songs 'In A Monastery Garden' and 'If I Were A Blackbird' include imitations of the blackbird, his "signature bird." Music Hall is a form of British theatrical entertainment which reached its peak of popularity between 1850 and 1960. ... Ronnie Ronalde (born Ronald Charles Waldron, 1923, London) is a British music hall singer and siffleur. ... Binomial name Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 The Blackbird or Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) is a European member of the thrush family Turdidae. ...

The French composer François-Bernard Mâche has been credited with the creation of zoomusicology, the study of the music of animals. His essay Musique, mythe, nature, ou les Dauphins d'Arion (1983)includes a study of "ornitho-musicology," in which he speaks of "animal musics" and a longing to connect with nature. FranÃ§ois-Bernard MÃ¢che (born April 4, 1935 Clermont-Ferrand) is a French composer of contemporary music. ... Zoomusicology is a field of musicology and zoology or more specifically, zoosemiotics. ...

Bird song and poetry

Bird song is a popular subject in poetry. Famous poems inspired by bird song include Percy Bysshe Shelley's To a Skylark ("Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!/Bird thou never wert") and Gerard Manley Hopkins' Sea and Skylark. Much of Tolkins work is centered around birdsong and its relation to middle earth inhabitants. Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 â€“ July 8, 1822; pronounced ) was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest lyrical poets of the English language. ... The Best ideal is the true/ And other truth is none. ... ... A map of the north-western part of Tolkiens Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age Middle-earth is the literal translation of the Middle English term middel-erde, which developed from Old English middangeard. ...

See also

â€œAvesâ€ redirects here. ... A language of the birds, a mystical, perfect or divine language, or a mythical or magical language used by birds to communicate with the initiated , is postulated in mythology, medieval literature and occultism. ... Animal communication is any behaviour on the part of one animal that has an effect on the current or future behaviour of another animal. ... Animal language is the modeling of human language in non human animal systems. ... Bioacoustics is a cross-disciplinary science, which investigates sound production and reception in animals, including man, the biological acoustically-borne information transfer and its propagation in elastic media. ... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

References

A sonogram may refer to the following: A diagnostic medical image created using ultrasound echo equipment, see sonography. ... David Allen Sibley (born 1962, New York) is an American ornithologist. ... The Sibley Guide to Birds is a guide for the identification of birds found in the North American region as defined by the American Birding Association. ...

External links

Categories: Animal communication | Animals | Animal sounds | Song forms | Zoomusicology | Ornithology â€œAvesâ€ redirects here. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Anatomy of a typical bird Bird anatomy shows so many unusual adaptations (mostly aiding flight) that birds have earned their own unique class in the vertebrate phylum. ... It has been suggested that keel (bird) be merged into this article or section. ... Flight is the main mode of locomotion used by most of the worlds bird species. ... In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... Two feathers Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. ... Closeup on a single white feather A feather is one of the epidermal growths that forms the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on a bird. ... Paleornithology is the scientific study of bird evolution and fossil birds. ... Binomial name Archaeopteryx lithographica Meyer, 1861 Synonyms see text Archaeopteryx (from Ancient Greek Î±ÏÏ‡Î±Î¹Î¿Ï‚ archaios meaning ancient and Ï€Ï„ÎµÏÏ…Î¾ pteryx meaning feather or wing;[1] pronounced ), from the late Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian stage, 155-150 million years ago) of what is now Germany, is the earliest and most primitive known avian. ... A bird hybrid is basically a bird that has two different species as parents. ... For a list of early taxa of birds known only from fossils, see Fossil birds. ... For a list of birds extinct in Late Quaternary prehistoric times and (usually) known from specimens not completely fossilized, see Later Quaternary Prehistoric Birds. ... The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy is a radical bird taxonomy based on DNA-DNA hybridization studies conducted in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. ... Since 1500, over 100 species of birds have become extinct, and this rate of extinction seems to be increasing. ... The level of intelligence in birds, as a scientific inquiry, has not been as thoroughly researched as similar questions regarding primates and other mammals. ... Flock of Barnacle Geese during autumn migration Many species of birds undertake seasonal journeys of various lengths, a phenomenon known as Bird migration. ... A Common Cuckoo being raised by a Reed Warbler. ... The Sooty Tern is highly aerial and marine and will spend years flying at sea without returning to land. ... Families Charadridae Jacanidae Rostratulidae Ibidorhynchidae Recurvirostridae Haematopodidae Scolopacidae Dromadidae Burhinidae Glareolidae Thinocoridae Waders, called Shorebirds in North America (where wader is used to refer to long-legged wading birds such as storks and herons), are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. ... Falcated Duck at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands centre, Gloucestershire, England Wildfowl or waterfowl, also waterbirds, is the collective term for the approximately 147 species of swans, geese and ducks, classified in the order Anseriformes, family Anatidae. ... Families Many, see text A songbird or oscine is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of Passeriformes (ca. ... Orders Accipitriformes Cathartidae Pandionidae Accipitridae Sagittariidae Falconiformes Falconidae A bird of prey or raptor is a bird that hunts its food, especially one that preys on mammals or other birds. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This page lists living orders and families of birds, class Aves (for extinct birds, please see Extinct birds and Prehistoric birds). ... The following are the regional bird lists by continent. ... Bird ringing (also known as bird banding) is an aid to studying wild birds, by attaching a small individually numbered metal or plastic ring to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the birds life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual... Ornithology (from the Greek ornis = bird and logos = word/science) is the branch of zoology concerned with the scientific study of birds. ... Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds. ... Birdfeeding is the activity of feeding (and usually observing) wild birds. ... The extinction of the Dusky Seaside Sparrow was caused by habitat loss. ... Aviculture is the practice of keeping and often breeding pet birds, generally companion parrots, and the culture that forms around it. ...

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