They sing and it seems to us that they do it to delight us. But no. Bird singing is a very complicated form of communication that birds learn from the first day of life. There are different languages, customizations and even dialects.
Singing for birds is serious business. They do this for many different reasons and the learning phase is long, challenging and complicated. Each species has its own particularities and sister species that inhabit different corners of the earth develop similar but not identical languages. We can say that they speak different dialects: this diversity is related to the differences in the environments that surround them. When any bird sings, it pronounces a phrase with a precise meaning, it usually repeats it constantly until its call has been heard. In some cases the singing to the human ear is harmonious, in others rather annoying.
Singing lessons
Only today, thanks to the modern technologies we have at our disposal, are we able to study birdsong more closely. It turned out that the same subject is able to sing in an infinite number of different ways. The song changes according to the time of day, according to the season, according to the place in which it is located and the result it wants to obtain.
For this to learn the art of singing for birds it's a pretty important thing: it's a survival tool. They do it from a very young age and learning is divided into four phases:
• silent: the first two phases are called silent. Birds listen to their parents and adults sing and assimilate the technique. The first phase of listening and assimilation of the singing structure goes from birth up to twelve months. The second phase, on the other hand, lasts about eight months during which the birds learn the syllables that will form the sentences;
• listening to their own singing: once the technique has been assimilated, they try their hand at singing and begin to listen to each other. During this phase they are likely to compare what they are able to do with what they hear every day from "adults", improving day by day;
• personalization: this is the last phase, during which the bird is the master of the song and begins with the personalization phase.
Why do birds sing
Among birds, singing is a male matter. The species in which the female sing is very rare and most of the time she is content to listen or responds with small rather meaningful phrases. The reasons why singing is so important to birds are numerous:
• goes far. Singing is a trait that certainly does not go unnoticed. Unlike visual cues, singing reaches considerable distances, and is a very useful communication tool even during the night, when the eyes are out of order. It is certainly no coincidence that birds that are characterized by a vigorous and harmonious song most often have anonymous plumage. Conversely, those less prepared in singing sport a five-star plumage. Obviously there are exceptions that confirm the rule. Take for example the oriole, whose feathers are a real riot of yellow. If you've ever heard him sing, you certainly can't forget him. Nature has probably endowed it with a certain predisposition to singing and a beautiful plumage because its habitat is that of the undergrowth: to be noticed it will need both aptitudes;
• alarm signal. Birds are used to singing to alert mates of potential danger. Depending on the severity of the danger, the song and the speed of the escape will vary;
• united during the journey. It is not uncommon for singing to be used to remain united during migrations. Ducks or geese, for example, do nothing but call each other continuously in order not to lose sight of each other;
• the search for food. Some species usually sing to show the little ones the presence of food. For example, the peaks do this by singing that attract the attention of the new born;
• the search for a partner. It could be said that, despite all the aforementioned reasons, birds sing mainly to find a mate. Singing is in fact primarily a sexual question. It is no coincidence that almost exclusively males sing, who bear the burden of finding the right partner for reproduction.
Singing and playing
It is not just the birds that sing to capture the attention of their mates. For example, many ungulates do this, such as the deer that shakes the mountains with its bellow. It is no coincidence that during the period of reproduction any bird exponentially expands its vocal repertoire. The goal is to attract attention and conquer. Normally, once mating has taken place, the male puts aside the song. Species that continue to sing even after the pair is created stop immediately after spawning. The reason is quite simple: the song makes them easily identifiable by any predators and at that precise moment it is good to go unnoticed.