Birds sing to communicate with one another and with their environment. Different species produce distinctive calls and songs, often more intricate in terms of song than call.
Sounds of birdsong can be both soothing and alarming; Chickadees emit high seets when they detect aerial predators like raptors.
African shrikes
Shrikes of Africa are some of the loudest forest birds, and their calls will definitely get your attention. Their calls may attract potential mates or warn others of predators; these stunningly varied birds range from highly vocal and gregarious species like the European Shrike to secretive ones that prefer living alone in trees.
Lanius shrikes are typically found throughout sub-Saharan Africa; they inhabit riverine woods, moist woodlands and suburban gardens. These birds feed by searching both on the ground and trees while also being adept aerial hunters; often seen solitary or pair hunting together – sometimes advertising territories using high-pitched whistles while males perform courtship displays with short flights before giving harsh, raucous tearing sounds or bill-snapping displays.
Malaconotidae (pronounced ma-LAK-noti-dee) comprises six species of bush-shrikes found throughout West, Central and South Africa as well as Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique. Four of them inhabiting mountain ranges (Lagden’s M. lagdeni; Green-breasted M. gladiator; Monteiro’s M. monteiri; Uluguru M. alius); one is an endemic lowland species called Fiery-breasted Bush-shrike (M. rufescens). All are very large species inhabiting similar habitats to Lanius shrikes found elsewhere in Africa.
Telophorus black-capped shrikes are smaller birds, more often heard than seen. They reside in thorn veld habitat and tend to remain stationary, though some species such as T. olivaceus (Olive Bush-Shrike), have been recorded moving locally between Malawi and Zimbabwe. When heard collectively they often produce an audible chorus: kreep-krow-krawow-kreep-krow. Communication occurs through growls, squeaks or bill snaps between members; when one bird calls from its dominant bird will cause others to respond with their own calls as soon as possible – one bird will initiate that response even quicker than before if its dominant bird calls cause others within its group to follow suit or give an echoing trill that ranges anywhere between fast buzzes with barely discernable notes to slower telephone-like trill rings with its unique sounds depending on its region!
Magpie larks
The magpie lark’s call has been described as either “Peewee Peewee Doodit Doodit” or “peewit peewit”, usually produced in duet by male and female partners with interspersed notes that make up one song. They will sometimes raise their wings during these songs to warn intruders that they are serious about protecting their territory. These birds breed year-round; male and female partners gather plant fibres and mud together, then build their characteristic mud-cup nest and line it with soft grass or feathers or whatever material available cosy materials they find. They incubate three pinkish eggs for 17-18 days before leaving their breeding territory which may extends as large as 10 ha!
These birds sing with incredible rhythmic precision to communicate their identity and signal their strength. Animals commonly use coordinated displays as an assessment of rivals or potential mates as well as marking out territories – lions roar in chorus to signal large group sizes to other lions while gibbons, chimpanzees and wolves use coordinated displays to assess threats from competing groups; magpie lark duets have proven more effective at warning intruders due to being heard further away than just one magpie singing solo could do alone – their calls can more likely to reach further distance than just one single magpie could do alone!
Magpie larks can be found throughout Australia, inhabiting nearly all habitat types apart from rainforests and deserts. They are commonly seen around towns and cities where they roam through short grass or search out insects for sustenance; as well as frequenting urban gardens, ovals, street verges, lawns.
Superb Lyrebird
Menura novaehollandiae), one of two species of lyrebird found worldwide, is an impressive songbird known for its spectacular tail of fanning feathers which mimics an instrument. Male lyrebirds may spread their tail up to 55 centimeters wide when courting displays are being performed and have an intriguing call that sounds similar to flute music.
In the 1930s, a flute-playing farmer from Dorrigo, Australia discovered a lyrebird capable of mimicking certain phrases from his music. He released it into New England National Park near Dorrigo where it remained until discovered by a park ranger.
The lyrebird is known for its wide-ranging repertoire of sounds, which include chainsaws, car engines, dog barks and local native birds. Additionally, its alarm shriek resembles calls from multiple species; and one study published Feb 25 in Current Biology showed it could even replicate several bird wingbeats simultaneously.
Lyrebirds have earned themselves the nickname of “the Sammy Davis of the animal kingdom” according to a 1998 episode of BBC’s Life of Birds with David Attenborough, due to their ability to mimic mechanical noises. While they can indeed mimic mechanical sounds in captivity, it is highly unlikely they could pick up on them during flight in nature.
The Lyrebird breeds annually from April to October. Male lyrebirds secure their territory and attract potential mates by singing and dancing on a mound, throwing his tail forward over his body and shaking it to show that he has taken charge. They may mate with several females but only the most dominant male will incubate and care for the eggs produced from one mate – this allows multiple birds to be fertile simultaneously.
Bittern
The Bittern, one of the UK’s loudest birds, has been discovered living in Bracknell Forest wetland. A member of the heron family, it usually remains concealed among reeds but can extend its neck in order to reach fish or other prey sources. It uses its distinctive far-carrying call to announce territory and attract mates.
An alert listener could hear the booming of a bittern from three to five kilometres away in settled conditions. Most commonly heard during spring breeding season, but sometimes heard all year in suitable habitats, their two minute calls typically consist of two low pitched notes repeated every second or so; males also produce soft contact calls and single note “Kaa” flight calls that last around one minute each.
Bitterns use their long neck feathers to produce their signature booming call, sending waves through dense reed beds where they live. A video of two bitterns engaged in breeding displays demonstrates this behavior.
This study explored the capabilities of digital acoustic analysis (DOA) to distinguish between actual bittern calls and their echos in highly reverberant wetland environments using spectrograms recorded from microphone arrays placed near vegetation in the water. For each echo, one kept its original number of syllables while fragmentation ensued for others.
Results indicate that DOA is an efficient technique for conducting auditory surveys of breeding status, numbers, behavior and microhabitat selection of nocturnal wetland birds in thick vegetation or large water surface environments. It has proven beneficial when applied in areas with dense vegetation or large water surfaces.
Sedge warbler
As summer progresses, Sedge Warblers become more visible throughout reedbeds and damp grassland across the UK. Their distinctive features include a wide pale stripe above their eye (supercilium) and streaked upperparts; when perched on outside branches or perching behind bushes they may be hard to spot, but listen for their distinctive rambling song; this differs significantly from that of Reed Warblers!
Melancholy and descending song can be heard likened to water cascading over a waterfall or penny dropping between pins of an arcade machine, and can even be heard from upland oak woods and temperate rainforest environments. Their song begins as rapid series of “zip” notes before quickly picking up speed into an ever-intensifying trill before coming to an abrupt halt; you can spot these birds anywhere between April and August in the UK.
These long-distance migrants mainly breed in lowlands and valleys of Europe spanning Finland to Siberia, and migrate south of the Sahara in sub-Saharan Africa during wintertime to sub-Saharan Africa for breeding purposes. You’ll usually find them near water sources or grasslands. Reedbeds or wet grasslands might also host these birds along with dense scrub and desert bush.
Male Sedge Warblers mark their territories by flying up and down while making repetitive calls, before performing a dramatic flight song by parachuting from above and landing into their habitat below. Once established in one territory they may return year after year for breeding purposes.
At Cossington Meadows Nature Reserve you can hear sedge warblers singing in Brook and Mill Wood reedbeds, as well as hearing chiffchaff songs throughout the summertime. All three species nest in reeds where they create cup-shaped nests using grass stems, animal hair and flower heads for incubation periods lasting 14 days before chicks emerge after another two-week incubation period.
