There is a really interesting article in this weeks new scientist about how birdsong goes out of fashion.
Ecologists already new that some birds develop regional dialects, but in a new study on sparrows songs from thirty years ago and today were compared and the new one was slower and had a lower pitch.
When played to female and male sparrows, the females become more interested and the males more aggressive when they heard the song from the modern day even though the recordings were of equal quality and none of the birds had ever met the bird singing the song.
Thanks for sharing that. I have heard before that bird songs can change quickly - there were even suggestions a while ago that some birds were starting to copy mobile phone ringtones! I'm not sure how truthful that was though.
...there were even suggestions a while ago that some birds were starting to copy mobile phone ringtones! I'm not sure how truthful that was though.
I will hope that there is NO truth to that! In the US it would not surprise me to learn that the Northern Mockingbird does just that though, as it is quite an accomplished mimic.
Kingfisher
I couldn't stand hearing birds start singing ringtones! Its bad enough having to put up with them everywhere other than the countryside.
Like I said I don't know how truthful that was, and I'm sure it would only have been town birds because otherwise they wouldn't have heard the tune enough already, so we don't have to worry about the beautiful bird song in the countryside being replaced by endless nokia songs.
On that note, we have a resident Blackbird at the station where I work and in the middle of his song, he often imitates the station turn out alarm. So I can well believe the ring tone theory. Why does that fill me with dread!!!!!
I know the pitch of the first couple of tones are all crucial because they prove 'pavlov's' theory on conditioning. ie he jumps up on the first two tones.
On that note, we have a resident Blackbird at the station where I work and in the middle of his song, he often imitates the station turn out alarm. So I can well believe the ring tone theory. Why does that fill me with dread!!!!!
Thats really interesting but slightly worrying at the same time! I wonder why the birds imitate the sounds they hear, there must have been some advantage to doing so in the past. The original article did say that some scientists think that bird songs changing could be the reason that different species of bird have evolved, so maybe that's why.
As I thought I understood bird song (total ley person !!) they follow a structure, with a part of the song that is "free form", to impress the ladies, ie, like a jazz number with improvisation in the middle eight. So is the change in song form over the years due to natural musical progression or are the birds just trying to wind me up!!!
I heard on the radio a blackbird that imitated the sound of a computer dialing up onto the net. Quite bizaar but interesting at the same time. There was a blackbird two years ago that used to yodel where I live. I have not heard any black birds for a while now though
It gets worse, first ringtones and now computer dial tones!
I have heard that jackdaws and jays are the best mimics, but they can't copy the more complex new ringtones, so there is hope yet!
I suppose that is one advantage to people having songs as their ringtones, they must be much harder for birds to copy because of there is not just one repeated melody.
The disadvantage is having to hear "Rhianna - Umbrella" over and over again on the bus!
