What Is the Difference Between Bird Calls?

Are you wondering what kind of bird greets you every day with a sweet song while you drink your morning coffee? While some birds are born with songs and calls, others learn them. Songs are only produced by the male, who learns from his father and other males. Birds have different songs and calls for different occasions and needs. Differences in bird calls come from different species and the complexity of the syrinx, or muscle they use to sing. Birds use songs and calls to communicate location, attract mates and warn of predators.

  1. Mating and Territory

    • Older males' calls are preferred by females due to their intricacy, compared to younger male calls. Females listen to males' songs and judge their virility by the complexity of the song. Males sing to protect their territory and find a mate; some birds use the same songs while others have separate ones for both purposes. Some males will counter-sing, which is singing another male's song in the same exact way, to assert themselves over the territory.

    Contact and Warning Calls

    • Birds will communicate their location through several short call notes. They will tell each other where they are based on certain calls. Some birds, such as nuthatches, have calls that can be understood by other bird species, such as chickadees, when a predator is near. Chickadees will in turn give a warning call and nuthatches will come together to try to ward off the predator. Birds give present-tense calls because they are not capable of giving calls about things in the past; rather, they call to other birds about things occurring at the moment, like current position and predatory advancement.

    Recognize Calls

    • An effective way to differentiate bird calls is to buy a CD or digital sound file of certain bird calls from a bookstore or specialty bird store. There are resources on the Internet. Go out to the backyard and listen to birds, trying to see them to identify which birds make certain calls. Birdwatching is a hobby shared by many, and organizations such as The National Audubon Society have bird-related information and resources, once you do identify which bird is calling from the tree in your backyard.

    Syrinx

    • A mockingbird on a branch.

      The organ that produces birds' calls is called the syrinx. This organ is near the bottom of the bird's windpipe and divides the main bronchial tube that leads to the bird's lungs. The skin membranes vibrate as air is pushed through them and are controlled by different muscles. The number of muscles a bird species has and the complexity of these muscles varies from species to species, and this accounts for the difference between birds' calls. The syrinx has two divides for each lung, so birds can make complex sounds, which is why starlings and mockingbirds can make such a variety of songs.