By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Published: 22 March 2006, The Independent
If your computer modem sounds a little odd – try checking the tree outside.
According to a new CD released by the British Library today, what sounds like the search for a connection may, in fact, be a blackbird in full voice.
The CD, Bird Mimicry, is compiled from recordings held by the British Library Sound Archive which stores the world’s largest collection of the sounds of nature.
Birds can mimic almost any sound, whether it comes from an animal within earshot or the noises of inanimate objects such as a squeaky farm fence, a mobile phone or a digital alarm clock.
Starlings have been known to learn the high-pitched, duo-toned screech of a car alarm. The sound archive’s CD includes Sparkie Williams, a champion talking budgerigar, and the hand-reared bullfinches who were taught to whistle German folk tunes. “As the
birds were taught the same tunes by different trainers, each bird sings a slightly different version – much like if two humans were whistling the same song,” said a sound archivist, Cheryl Tipp.
Then there’s the fawn-breasted bower bird in Papua New Guinea which
learnt the sounds made by workmen mending a tin roof: the noise of
hammering, sawing – even the rattles of a stray ball-bearing rolling
around inside a paint can.
Mimicking sounds is an integral part of how birds learn to build up
the vital repertoire of songs that they need to defend a territory or
attract a mate, said Professor Tim Birkhead, an ornithologist at the
University of Sheffield. “For a bird it makes absolutely no
difference whether the sound is from an artificial source, from
another bird or whether it comes from its dad,” Professor Birkhead
said. “Mimicry is the entire basis for how they acquire their songs
and there are whole categories of birds that will happily incorporate
other strange sounds into their songs to produce a vast, rambling
repertoire,” he said.
Marsh warblers and starlings are particularly good mimics and have
been known to pick up and incorporate the distinctive songs of other
species. “I once knew of a captive goldfinch with a very distinctive
song. Within three months, the local starlings had learnt to imitate
it and they were still singing the song two years after the goldfinch
had died,” Professor Birkhead said.
Andre Farrar, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of
Birds, said that his father used to call his Jack Russell terrier
with a distinctive whistle. The local starlings soon learnt to
imitate it and quickly learnt how to “call” the dog to the bottom of
the garden. “There’s an evolutionary advantage to birds who can
augment their songs. Females of many species choose those males with
the most complex songs, so there is a biological imperative to
imitate sounds,” Mr Farrar said.
Perhaps the strangest bird mimic is the black-throated honeyguide of
Africa which mimics the sound of a bees’ nest to attract the
attention of local people. The bird then guides the humans to the
hive itself to share the spoils.
But beware – birds don’t like noisy neighbours. Studies have shown
that as ambient noise from towns and roads increases, so does the
tendency for songbirds to move to quieter sites.
Dutch scientists showed that it was the younger and more
inexperienced birds that were forced to build their nests close to
busy roads. Older, more experienced birds preferred to establish
their territories well away from the sound of traffic, the scientists
found.
If your computer modem sounds a little odd – try checking the tree
outside.
According to a new CD released by the British Library today, what
sounds like the search for a connection may, in fact, be a blackbird
in full voice.
The CD, Bird Mimicry, is compiled from recordings held by the British
Library Sound Archive which stores the world’s largest collection of
the sounds of nature.
Birds can mimic almost any sound, whether it comes from an animal
within earshot or the noises of inanimate objects such as a squeaky
farm fence, a mobile phone or a digital alarm clock.
Starlings have been known to learn the high-pitched, duo-toned
screech of a car alarm. The sound archive’s CD includes Sparkie
Williams, a champion talking budgerigar, and the hand-reared
bullfinches who were taught to whistle German folk tunes. “As the
birds were taught the same tunes by different trainers, each bird
sings a slightly different version – much like if two humans were
whistling the same song,” said a sound archivist, Cheryl Tipp.
Then there’s the fawn-breasted bower bird in Papua New Guinea which
learnt the sounds made by workmen mending a tin roof: the noise of
hammering, sawing – even the rattles of a stray ball-bearing rolling
around inside a paint can.
Mimicking sounds is an integral part of how birds learn to build up
the vital repertoire of songs that they need to defend a territory or
attract a mate, said Professor Tim Birkhead, an ornithologist at the
University of Sheffield. “For a bird it makes absolutely no
difference whether the sound is from an artificial source, from
another bird or whether it comes from its dad,” Professor Birkhead
said. “Mimicry is the entire basis for how they acquire their songs
and there are whole categories of birds that will happily incorporate
other strange sounds into their songs to produce a vast, rambling
repertoire,” he said.
Marsh warblers and starlings are particularly good mimics and have
been known to pick up and incorporate the distinctive songs of other
species. “I once knew of a captive goldfinch with a very distinctive
song. Within three months, the local starlings had learnt to imitate
it and they were still singing the song two years after the goldfinch
had died,” Professor Birkhead said.
Andre Farrar, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of
Birds, said that his father used to call his Jack Russell terrier
with a distinctive whistle. The local starlings soon learnt to
imitate it and quickly learnt how to “call” the dog to the bottom of
the garden. “There’s an evolutionary advantage to birds who can
augment their songs. Females of many species choose those males with
the most complex songs, so there is a biological imperative to
imitate sounds,” Mr Farrar said.
Perhaps the strangest bird mimic is the black-throated honeyguide of
Africa which mimics the sound of a bees’ nest to attract the
attention of local people. The bird then guides the humans to the
hive itself to share the spoils.
But beware – birds don’t like noisy neighbours. Studies have shown
that as ambient noise from towns and roads increases, so does the
tendency for songbirds to move to quieter sites.
Dutch scientists showed that it was the younger and more
inexperienced birds that were forced to build their nests close to
busy roads. Older, more experienced birds preferred to establish
their territories well away from the sound of traffic, the scientists
found.