alcazar

iTrader: (2)

I have to admit that I find birdsong lifts my spirits.......so much so that I have four CDs of birdsong that I listen to while the dark Winter evenings are here. SAD, I reckon.

But what TRIGGERS their singing? They start at first light, (some, even before the human eye can detect the dawn), and go berserk again at dusk, so my first thought would be "light", or "a certain level of light".

However, that can't be it all, since they would then be triggered at all hours on dull days, which does not seem to be the case.

And there's been a song-thrush singing almost all day here at the moment too.

Alcazar

cottonfoo

Can't remember where I read this, probably New Scientist, but I believe it has to do with how large their eyes are. Birds don't sing when it's dark because it attracts predators, and they can't hear them coming. The larger their eyes, the more light they can let in, so they start singing to attract a mate, when it's light enough for them to see predators.

MiniShaz

We have a blackbird thats sings in our garden at dusk, and others around seem to take it in turns to answer. Beautiful. And we hear one bird in the morning that we call the chips and peas bird, cos it sings this - chip-chip-chip-peeeeeees

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

That one sounds like a bluetit.

Alcazar

jjones

the birdman of alcazar

jonc

Heres a bird that mimics man made sounds, like a car alarm , chainsaw, camera shutters......

Lyrebird Unbeleivable Jungle Bird Mimics Bird and Human Sounds - Google Video

Prasius

iTrader: (1)

I hate birds. Mostly because they purposfully target my car with their s**t everytime I wax it.

StickyMicky

the amount of time we have finished somebodys car, parked it up and left it for the rest of the day awaiting collection, and then have an angry punter as a bird has shat all over the bonnet

how come they never hit the tarmac

Prasius

iTrader: (1)

..because they don't aim for the tarmac..

evil.. pure evil I tell ya..

orbix

When you have 4 cats it's a brave bird that sings.

Rapid17

Could you come and tell the Robin that sings outside my place a 4 am to stop singing as he's breaking the rules. LOL

Rapid17

I'm 60 years young and have been interested in birds since i was a small boy.
Last summer (June 2006) i went to stay with one of my daughters in Dorset. She lives in a close which is surrounded by large trees and plenty of vegitation which attracts a multitude of birds, both residents and migrants. On one occasion i got up at around 5 am for a Jimmy Riddle and the dawn chorus must have been at it's peak; in all my life i have never heard so many different birds singing at the same time, it was fan bloody tastic. It's a shame i didn't have some sort of recording equipment to capture it.

Geoff.

Bubba po

Birdsong in general consists of variations upon a theme of "Fancy a ****" and "Get orf moi laaand".

HTH.

swaussie

I worked with a guy a few years back who was an avid bird watcher. I never had any real interest in them until I met him. Now I love to listen and watch them. Strange thing is, in Aus we have some amazingly beautiful birds but they sing like crap whereas in Europe I find the birds quite plain but they can sing so wonderfully. Does anybody else think the same?

I once asked this guy why birds sing in the morning and he couldnt come up with a decent answer?

It helps to put a feeder in a nearby tree to attract them

Bubba po

As cottonfoo says, but that mainly explains why the times that different birds start singing are staggered..

Big-eyed birds sing early songs: dawn chorus explained - This Week - Brief Article Science News - Find Articles

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

What have you got for reproducing music? As stated, I have FOUR bird CD's, just PM me if you're interested in having some "the same"

Alcazar

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

See previous post to yours: birdsong is about attracting mates and defending territory. Very colourful birds use that for attracting, and also, via display, for territorial defense.

Dull coloured birds need to sing to announce themselves.

Alcazar

Apparition

Birds were singing their little beaks off tonight as I left work at 6pm. Lovely to hear.
Yve

Nimbus

I'll admit to liking the sound of this as well. Spring is my favourite part of the year, and this is when the singing is at it's best. I prefer the song of the black bird myself. I agree that listneing to their song is very relaxing.

And going slightly off topic, I spotted a Sparrow Hawk in our garden yesterday morning. He was standing on a branch, pulling the feathers out of, what looked like a starting. It's the first time I've seen one of these in the garden. We normally just get sparrows, blue/greattits, finches, collared doves and pheasants.

Reality

Aberdeen doesn't have too much Bird Song - Drowned out by the gentle SQWAAAAACK from the **** hawks (Seagulls).

Shark Man

I keep getting blue **** tapping my window in the morning during the summer, usually at 6.00am.

<cue joke about how cruel I am at shutting the missus outside overnight whilst stark naked >

cottonfoo

The crows across the road from the farm I used to live on would try and kill their reflection in the mirrored image in a window downstairs in the mornings, they'd tap the glass so hard with their beaks you would swear it was going to break! I initially thought someone was trying to break in