Birds in Urban Environments Sing Slightly Different Songs
Posted on March 20, 2012
Conservation scientist Peter Marra, working with Smithsonian researchers, found that some urban birds sing slightly different songs than their country cousins. Some of the city birds sing a higher pitched tune. Echoes from city skyscrapers and noisy vehicles make it difficult for the birds to communicate with their original songs, so they adapted them for the city.
Marra says, "Just like you, when you're in a bar, or if you're out in the street and there's a siren that goes by, you've got to shout, or you have to change your own voice so someone else can hear you."
CBS News reports that the researchers are wondering if the city birds would be able to find a mate in the country using their adapted calls. Take a look:
Similar research of city birds using higher notes than rural birds was reported in Nature in 2003.