Episode: 6

Summary

This episode is Part 2 of 2 about Bird Songs. 

In the last episode, Part 1, we talked mostly about the “how” and the “who” of bird songs. We haven’t really talked about the “why,” the purpose of all these vocal sounds. This episode begins by looking at the functions of bird songs and calls.

Then we get into variation in bird songs, at several levels, including among species and among geographic regions.

You’ll also learn about some interesting subtopics like the dawn chorus and female songs.‍‍

Research Citations

• White-throated Sparrow viral dialect study (Otter et al. 2020. Current Biology)

Links to Some Things Mentioned in this Episode

• BirdNet
• Female Bird Songs

Attributions

• White-crowned Sparrow singing - Recording XC565001 on Xeno Canto
• White-crowned Sparrow singing - Recording XC99572 on Xeno Canto
• Black-capped Chickadee singing - Recording XC70185 on Xeno Canto
• Red-tailed Hawk - Recording XC71575 on Xeno Canto
• Northern Mockingbird - Recording XC538537 on Xeno Canto

Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website

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