You may have already wondered why birds sing as much in the spring. An expert explains why.
A shallow do not do the spring? Spring is, however, the moment when most birds turn to their family obligations: they mate, build their nests, lay, and raise their young.
Why do birds sing?
The song of birds is an important part of the reproductive cycle, which begins when male migratory birds reach their nesting areas. They generally arrive before female birds, which gives each male time to establish a nesting territory and defend it against other males of the same species. Singing is a form of communication that strengthens this property and announces that "it is an occupied territory".
The females, which generally arrive at nesting places a week or two after the males, hear the song of the latter and if a song attracts them, they stop to spy on the male in question. They will then check its plumage and explore its territory to see if everything suits it. Indeed, it is the female who chooses a partner, not the other way around.
Multitude of sounds
Bird songs are not always soft music. For example, peaks like to peck the picnic tables or the coating of houses. This spring hammering is not an effort to find food, but a communication with other peaks of their species.
The male cute groupe attracts its partners and defends the territories by "drumming", a deaf noise that it makes by beating the air with the feathers of its main wings, generally perched on a tree or a fallen log. Other tetras, such as the chickens of the meadows and the tetras of the Armoises, emit a thud by filling the air bags with air on the sides of their neck and expiring.
The male necklace pheasants sing like chickens, mourning mourning lovebirds, the martins fishermen nods and the hululent owls.
What about female birds?
Singing is generally a male line, but some females also sing. This is the case of northern feminine cardinals which create a softer version of the song of the male cardinal, sometimes in unison with their companions. This is probably a nuddling parade ritual to strengthen their link.
How do birds sing?
Surprisingly, the beak of a bird does not always play a role with its song. In fact, birds like beans and vireos can sing with their jaws closed or full of food. These birds rather create the sounds at the bottom of their throat by expiring the air from their lungs.
Although we don't really know how birds learn to sing, we know that it is a sweet combination of inheritance and mimicry. Juvenile birds will start singing in their first fall and winter. In the spring, they are officially "graduates in singing". These young birds often hear songs from other males of their species and imitate them, adding a slight personal touch.
Distinguish songs, calls
There is a big difference between the songs of birds and their cries. Singing is generally a more melodious sound, while the call is often sharper and more direct.
Calls are used either as a sound alarm to communicate the danger, or as a silent chatter to locate partners and other birds of their species. For example, the cry of a Nordic cardinal is very different from his melodious song.
When do birds sing?
The best time to hear the song of birds is at dawn on a spring morning. Often called the "Dawn Choir", the song of birds reach their paroxysm at dawn at the end of May and early June, the peak of the breeding season in most regions in North America.
The average duration of songs is only 2 to 6 seconds each. Fortunately, some birds are known to continuously repeat their song. It is therefore worth getting up early to attend the best musical spectacle of nature. The great champions of the morning singing are certainly the black hikes or the black redes.
Amateur ornithologists have fun making the repetitive songs of birds. A ohio male singer sparrow has already interpreted 2,305 songs without interruption. In Virginia, a whip repeats its night refrain at least 800 times before falling asleep. The world record returns to a red -eyed vireo that sang 22,27 times in a single day.
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