AVIAN MUSICOLOGY ~ knowing about birds communication

 AVIAN MUSICOLOGY

                                                        ~ Knowing about birds communication

-      Haripriya J

The above picture was taken in my friend’s home. When I saw this, first thought came to my mind was what are they doing? Are they conversing to each other? What may be the conversation is about?

When I was imagining about what conversation would have happened between those cute birds first thing came to my mind was: in the first pic: as it was a sunny day birds would have come and sat on the grills to take rest, in the second pic they may be conversing about how climate has changed and causes for its change, third pic may depict that they are worried about their future!

Second thought came to my mind was, how urbanization has affected their lives, they lost their shelter and they are cursing human who was the main cause for it.

Third possibility is, as it was a hot day, one bird has come home late after playing with friends because of which it is getting scolding at home. Elder one is scolding the younger for playing in hot sunny day. It is advising not to do so because it may affect its health. So the other bird bowed its head for repenting of playing out for long in sunny day.

We, Humans have our own imagination. We express it through words. But how birds converse among themselves? Have we ever thought of it?

Yes, like how we communicate with other, even animals and birds also communicate with each other. We communicate with words, expressions, similarly they too communicate in many ways.

The only alarm in olden days was cock. People used to get up by its sound. And during sun set all birds will fly back to its nest by making sounds. Daily we come across various sounds from morning till evening and even in night too (some insects make sound). Just imagine what if there is no sound from animals or birds?

How do birds communicate?

The first thing you might have noticed was the sounds the birds were making. The voice is often the most noticeable form of bird communication. Bird communication using sound includes singing, calls, squeaks, squawks, gurgles, warbles, trills, rattles, gulps, pops, whines, clicks, croaks, drums, whistles, howls, tremolos, thumps, honks and many other sorts of sounds.

Not all birds use their voice as their main method of communication. Some birds, such as the ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus), make non-vocal sound by beating the air with their wings. This is done in a way where the wings create a vacuum and the sound is caused by the air rushing in to fill up that space, essentially creating a mini- sonic boom. This sound is used to establish and hold a territory. Another example, the Wilson’s snipe (Gallinago delicata) uses special tail feathers which its spreads during an earthward dive. As it plummets down, it beats its wings in a way that guides air through the feathers creating a winnowing sound. The snipe uses this during courtship.

Bird communication also happens through visual displays. These are often a combination of behaviors and the feathers on the bird’s body. In the case of the blackbirds, the males puff up their feathers, lean forward, shrug their shoulders showing off their colorful shoulders, and exaggerates them with bold postures. They also sing out as they do this making their statement loud and clear. So it is with many species of birds, both the visual and sound- based behaviors are used to communicate.

 

Why do birds communicate?

Birds use their voices to make sounds for all sorts of reasons, such as: claiming territory, seeking mates, begging for food, calling their chicks or mate, staying in touch with flock mates, scolding an intruder of the same species or different species, announcing the presence of a predator, singing a duet with a mate and many other reasons.

Sound is a great form of bird communication because it can carry beyond where birds can see. In some cases, sounds can travel over a mile or several miles under the right conditions. Also, if you are a bird that lives in a thicket, it helps to use your voice to stay in touch with your mate or with the members of your flock. Birds also tend to have very keen eyes so it is no surprise that visual displays are included in bird communication.

Consider the male red-winged blackbirds. They have deep, black colored bodies, black wings, black heads and eyes, black tails and those brilliant red and yellow wing patches. The red and yellow colors contrast starkly with the black, making these birds stunning to look at in full display. The way in which the males flash their brilliant wing patches as they sing adds to their messages. Both gestures together are used by the birds to try and communicate that they are claiming this patch of the cattail marsh as their territory.

The displays don't go unnoticed by the females either. Females of most bird species are generally duller looking in color compared to the males. Females are also very critical of the appearance of males, and when choosing a mate they don't just listen to his song, but also closely scrutinize his appearance. Why, you might ask? The healthier and more impressive a male birds feathers are, the healthier are his genes. Females want to mate with only the best males. If he sings well and has great plumage, she will want him to father her chicks.

Have you noticed peacock?

Visual displays are not about a bird's feathers, but also includes how a bird uses them. Consider a male peacock's beautiful tail. It is not enough for him to just have a beautiful tail, he also has to flaunt it many times every day to get the attention of the females. Though some birds communicate largely through visual displays or sound, most birds use some combination of both.

Can we understand bird communication?

Yes, it is possible for us to learn to understand bird communication. For example, the beautiful visual displays of a peacock or red-winged blackbird, or the enchanting song of a wood thrush or Swainson's thrush communicates to all of us on a personal level. That personal experience and the meaning we gain from it is different for each of us. It is also possible to understand bird communication in the context of how the birds themselves might understand it.

For starters, nothing birds do is without purpose. There are many levels of meaning in bird communication. On one level we can observe the colors and patterns on a bird, and recognize that it is sending a signal to other birds. One signal that it is sending is, "I belong to this species." Each species of bird looks and sounds different, this helps to distinguish whether a bird is a possible mate or not.

On another level, we might pay attention to the physical behaviors of a bird. For instance, is the bird feeding calmly or is it flying away and hiding in cover from a potential threat? Since birds can puff out or flatten down their feathers at will, how the feathers look might help understand how a bird is feeling or what it is trying to communicate. A bird that suddenly puffs itself up might be expressing the intensity of its current feelings. The raising of a birds crest might mean it is feeling aggressive, excitement or curious. A rigid, jumpy posture might mean it is frightened and ready to flee. Slower, more deliberate movements might show you that a bird is feeling relatively relaxed and calm.

A wealth of information on a bird's state of mind is to be found in the nuances of their behaviors and the intonations of their calls and songs.

There is also a way of studying bird communication that allows you to use the sounds and behaviors of birds to tell you about other, more elusive animals in the forest. This is described as the study of birds’ language. Bird communication changes with the seasons and times of
year in any given location.

Have you heard of talking bird?

We heard that birds such as parrot speak like us. They respond to us. Although parrots probably do not understand complex meanings of words, they are attuned to the context surrounding words and can make associations with the words. Parrots' mimicry is impressive. Monk Parakeet also called the Quaker Parakeet, this colorful little bird is actually a small parrot. They are known for being very clever and social, developing large vocabularies of phrases and words. Birds have varying degrees of talking ability: some, like the corvids, are able to mimic only a few words and phrases, while some budgerigars have been observed to have a vocabulary of almost 2,000 words. Still there is debate within the scientific community over whether some talking parrots also have some cognitive understanding of the language.

                                                                                      Monk Parakeets

We humans always make us centric and express that we are superior in the earth, we dominate other creatures. But we should not forget that other creatures of earth also have same right as we have. They have their own world, they have families, friends and yes they do communicate with each other and they can mimic the speech of humans.

Reference:

1. Bird communication- An introduction by Filip Tkaczyk

2. Images- Google source