Singer and song
Savour some of our best songsters.
MAY is filled with birdsong. Residents are breeding, summer visitors are setting up home, and with finding a mate and defending a territory, birds are very busy vocally. Birdsong is one of the great rewards of birding as you don’t even have to see the birds to enjoy them.
Here are a few species which cannot fail to delight.
Tree Pipit
This species starts to sing as soon as the males arrive in April and may continue into July, performing either from a perch or during an elaborate song flight, with the two songs slightly differing. In song flight it ascends and then parachutes down with tail raised and wings spread all the time pouring out its two or three melodic phrases, ending with a short descending flourish of notes. Trilling in the aerial song may denote fitness to potential mates and individual males seem to have unique notes which identify them.
Eurasian Wren
For a bird so small, Eurasian Wren’s song is amazingly loud, blasting out trills and buzzes at about 90 dB, usually from an open perch on a wall or bush, while cocking its tail and opening its beak wide. It can have several different song phrases and one may be repeated 20 or more times before changing to another, with each lasting 4-6 seconds. These phrases are extremely complex, containing more than 60 notes delivered in a mere eight seconds. The territorial song is usually louder and more forceful than the softer, sweeter courtship song.
Song Thrush
Members of the thrush family are all renowned songsters and Song Thrush is one of the easiest to recognise thanks to its regularly repeated phrases.
A bird may have more than 100 phrases, each repeated two to four times, usually sung from a high perch. Its frequency range is 1-6k Hz and anything from 24-44 dB in strength. Studies show differences between urban and country dwellers, with the former using fewer whistles and more twitters, and also having a greater repertoire of phrases, repeating them more often.
Willow Warbler
A sweet descending warble, ending in a flourish. Each song lasts 3-4 seconds and is made up of 20-25 components, beginning with high notes at about 7 kHz and going down to about
2 kHz at the end.
Studies have shown that males which sing the most are more likely to find a mate, and that the amount of singing decreases after pairing up takes place. It has been suggested that males could use the pitch of a rival’s song to determine its body size and hence fighting ability when competing for resources.
Goldcrest
This song is a high tinkling phrase repeated three or four times, followed by a terminal flourish, often given from high in a conifer. It contains some of the highest notes than can be heard by birders – as high as 7 kHz, with its call reaching higher than 10 kHz. As a result, older birders often find they can no longer hear Goldcrests.
Common Starling
Listen carefully to the song of this species and you will find a very complex mix of warbles, chirps, gurgles and whistles, lasting up to a minute. It consists of phrases often repeated two or more times and while singing a bird will usually flick its wings. Common Starling’s repertoire can be anything from 15-70 phrases, some taken from the songs of other birds, and even manmade sounds may be copied. Studies show that female Common Starlings prefer males with large repertoires and long bouts of song. While listening, how many phrases can you hear and can you identify any other species being imitated? Chaffinch
The distinctive song of Chaffinch can be heard throughout most of Britain and has been at the centre of birdsong research for many decades. It is often described as being in three parts, beginning with a whistle sequence of three or four notes, followed by a trill involving two series of two different notes, and then a final phrase of 3-5 notes, the whole song accelerating to its finish. Each Chaffinch has a relatively small repertoire and resident populations tend to copy each other, resulting in local dialects.