Close

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-birdsong.html" title="Facts and informations about birdsong">birdsong</a>

birdsong

birdsong Song, call notes, and certain mechanical sounds constitute the language of birds. Song is produced in the syrinx, whose firm walls are derived from the rings of the trachea, and is modified by the larynx and tongue. The membranes of the syrinx are controlled by slender muscles; in the oscines, or song birds, there may be as many as eight pairs of these muscles, whereas other birds have four or fewer. The greater development permits intricate patternings of sound (rare outside the oscines) that express a wide range of reactions, from pleasure to distress. Recognizable by humans and other animals as well as by other birds, the various calls are classified as flight, feeding, nest, flock, aggressive, alarm, and territorial-defense calls. Song is usually confined to the male and is at its height during the breeding season. Experiments have shown that hormone secretion in the male is directly connected with his propensity to song as well as with his selecting a territory for courtship and breeding. Among the oscines are such superior singers as the southern mockingbird, the hermit and wood thrushes, the purple and house finches, the canyon wren, and the European skylark and nightingale. Natural mimicry is characteristic of the mimic thrushes, the jays and crows, and the starlings, while birds with imitative faculties developed in captivity are canaries, finches, parrots, ravens, crows, and mynas. There is evidence that songs are learned and that certain calls are inherited. Most birds have preferences regarding the place from which they sing, e.g., fence posts, treetops, thickets, the forest floor, or on the wing. Mechanical sounds include the drumming of the grouse, the tattooing of the woodpecker, and the clattering of the stork.

Bibliography: See E. A. Armstrong, A Study of Bird Song (2d. enl. ed. 1973); R. Jesllis, Bird Sounds and Their Meaning (1984).

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	Which birds for an aviary? And how to keep them happy? Magazine article from: Sunset; 8/1/1989; 700+ words ; Keeping exotic birds in aviaries (page 60) can be a delightful...or a lot of attention. When purchasing birds to train, look for ones that have been...comfortable around humans. Captured wild birds can be very difficult to handle. Know your... Read more
	Birds. Magazine article from: Science Weekly; 9/11/1997; 700+ words ; There are birds that can run and birds that can swim. Some birds sing and some even waddle, ... but not all birds can fly! Ostriches run really fast, and penguins are super swimmers, but neither of them can fly. They are flightless birds. No matter... Read more
	Summer living is for the birds. Newspaper article from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA); 7/1/2008; 700+ words ; ...Frank Lepore COLUMN: FRANKLY SPEAKING The birds and other animals have won the battle...we are being overwhelmed, especially by birds and other small animals. At the current...from home of many, many years. Take the birds ... if you really want them. Our home has... Read more
	Cutting up Audubon for science and art.("The Birds of America" by John James Audubon) Magazine article from: The Magazine Antiques; 10/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...the intention of publishing a book on the birds of America. For the next twenty years...known as the double elephant folio of The Birds of America. He also spent his time preparing...ever more than 175 complete sets of The Birds of America sold. Of these, 50 or more have... Read more
	The Little Guides: Birds.(Book Review) Newspaper article from: Reviewer's Bookwatch; 4/1/2005; 498 words ; The Little Guides: Birds Joseph Forshaw (Editor) Fog City Press 814 Montgomery...in the Little Guide series The Little Guides: Birds is a 300+ -page work divided into sections. Part 1: THE WORLD OF BIRDS presents a three section overview for UNDERSTANDING... Read more
	Nature's bird feeders...two dozen plants that will attract birds. Magazine article from: Sunset; 1/1/1986; 422 words ; Nature's way of feeding the birds is one of the easiest and most enjoyable...refill, and there's no question whether the birds are getting nutritious food. All you have to do is choose plants that birds like and then provide routine garden care... Read more
	Kaplan, Gisela & Rogers, Lesley J. Birds, their habits and skills.(Book Review)(Young Adult Review)(Brief Article) Magazine article from: Kliatt; 5/1/2002; ; 346 words ; ...376-3. $15.95. JSA * Anyone interested in birds should read this book. Anyone not interested in birds should read this book because it will spark...contents cover all the fundamental aspects of birds: their diversity, their evolution, how they... Read more
	Bed & breakfast for the birds. (Bird Care with Love boarding facilities for birds) Magazine article from: Animals; 1/1/1998; ; 700+ words ; Wild birds may fly south for the winter, but pet birds need to be more concerned about the migration patterns of...feathered pets whose humans have temporarily flown the coop. Birds get lonely without people around, says Susan Crowley, who... Read more
	Passion for birds of prey. Newspaper article from: Harborough Mail (Market Harborough, England); 4/7/2008; 316 words ; BIRDS of prey aren't the cuddliest pets to have in the home. Their...obsessed with them since she was a teenager. Her love of birds of prey began when she was just 14 years old, when she began training and flying her own birds. Since then, Kathy has owned several different eagle owls... Read more
	Flying into trouble. (birds) (Cover Story) Magazine article from: World Watch; 1/1/1994; ; 700+ words ; ALL OVER THE WORLD, BIRDS ARE IN DECLINE. SOME WILL NEVER BE SEEN...compromised areas, and you will find plenty of birds. House sparrows hop between pedestrians...through the soil, at least a few types of birds will flourish. But most will not. As the... Read more

For more facts and information, see all related premium articles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	birdsong Book article from: Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes birdsong • along , belong, bong, chaise longue, dong, Geelong, gong, Guangdong, Haiphong, Heilong, Hong Kong, Jong, King Kong, long, mah-jong, Mao Zedong, Mekong, nong, pong, prolong, prong, sarong, Shillong...x2022; oolong •singalong • furlong • pingpong •Armstrong • headstrong ... Read more
	bird song Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition see birdsong . Read more
	Sheltered Life, The Book article from: The Oxford Companion to American Literature ...encroachments. Their neighbors are George Birdsong and his wife Eva, a famous belle of the...x201C;hate boys,” especially Mrs. Birdsong's ward, John Welch, a radical‐...during the summer vacation, from which the Birdsongs return ill, weary, and verging on nervous... Read more
	musique concrète Book article from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music musique concrète (Fr.). Concrete music. Mus. prepared from recorded sounds, either natural (e.g. birdsong) or man-made (traffic, instr. etc.). Term originated by Pierre Schaeffer in 1948 to differentiate between mus. assembled from concrete... Read more
	LaBelle, Patti Book article from: Contemporary Musicians ...Bluebells in 1961 with Nona Hendryx, Sarah Dash, and Cindy Birdsong (Birdsong left in 1967 to join the Supremes). The group had...early 1960s, with Nona Hendryx, Sara Dash, and Cindy Birdsong (Birdsong left in 1967); renamed group LaBelle, 1971... Read more

See all related entries