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Birds make song and dance about anything
Steve Connor
March 24 2006 at 02:13PM
London - If your computer modem sounds a little odd - try checking the
tree outside. According to a new CD released by the British Library on
Friday, 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 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 which were taught German
folk tunes.
"As the birds were taught the same tunes by different trainers, each
bird sings a slightly different version as 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.
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 Tim Birkhead, an ornithologist at the University
of Sheffield.
"For a bird it makes no difference whether the sound is from an
artificial source, from another bird or whether it comes from its dad,"
Birkhead said. "Mimicry is the 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."
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 distinctive song. Within
three months, local starlings had learnt to imitate it. They were still
singing the song two years after the Goldfinch had died," Birkhead said.
Andre Farrar, a spokesperson 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 augment their songs.
Females of many species choose those males with the most complex songs,
so there is a biological imperative to imitate sounds," Farrar said.
Perhaps the strangest mimic is the Black-throated Honey-guide of
Africa which mimics the sound of a bees' nest to attract the attention
of people, 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 increases, so does the tendency for
songbirds to move to quieter sites.
Inexperienced birds are forced to build their nests close to busy
roads. Experienced birds establish their territories well away from
traffic. - The Independent
This article was originally published on page 9 of Cape Times on March
24, 2006
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