Portal > Granny's Country Store > Nature & Wildlife > Bird Language | Search | View Cart
Biologists Decipher Chickadee Calls
Biologists studying black-capped chickadees have learned that the birds' warning calls indicate both the presence and the relative threat of nearby predators. Chris Templeton of the University of Washington in Seattle was working on a separate research project when he noticed that the chickadees responded differently to each species of bird prey they encountered. Most of the variations are really subtle and too difficult to pick up by ear, but one that can be heard is the "dee" in the chickadee's song. The more dangerous the predator, the more dee notes they add to their chick-a-dee-dee-dee call.
Chickadees fear smaller, more maneuverable bird predators the most, such as pygmy owls. Pygmy owls prompted an average of 3 1/2 extra dees in their songs, with up to twenty-three extra dees by some birds. Cats and ferrets invoked similar responses from the birds. Templeton's study also revealed that the more intense the alarm call the more chickadees responded to the call to attack the intruder, and the more daring their attacks became.
References:
Elise Kleemar. "Biologists Crack Code of Chickadee Song." Discover. October 2005. Page 22. |
-Birding-
Bird Identification and Interpreting Bird Language
Audio CDs by John Young
Reveiw by Thomas J. Elpel
My approach to nature awareness definitely has it's roots in Western culture-- I tend to focus my studies on the plants, rocks, birds and other animals that are most "useful" towards achieving my goals. In this case, the goal would be to successfully survive in the wilderness. In other words, I tend to think from my stomach: "Sure it's a cute bird, but can I eat it?" This utilitarian approach to nature may sound offensive at first, but believe me, you develop great respect and appreciation for every living thing when you interact with the world this way, instead of just looking at nature and saying, "Gee, isn't that cute."
Besides being illigal to kill song birds (unless you have a communications tower or a cat for a weapon), there really isn't any meat on them anyway, just lots of fluff. It is for that reason that I put off studying birds for so long. I knew I wanted to get into birding eventually to round out my nature skills, but I prioritized more "useful" skills first.
Two things helped to shift bird identification higher on my list. First, I reached a level of satisfaction with my other skills, such as edible and useful plants (i.e.: Botany in a Day), which made birding seem like the next good skill to develop. Second, and more importantly, I learned that it would actually be very "useful" to become proficient in bird identification.
It was Jon Young's CDs, Seeing Through Native Eyes and especially the last part of the series, Learning the Language of the Birds that really turned me on to birding. Jon Young describes the process of deciphering bird songs to discover if there are other animals or people nearby that are beyond the limited range of your own five senses. It isn't a matter of translating any particular bird call into English, but rather of being able to interpret alarm calls based on the intensity of the alarm and the preferred habitat of the bird(s) sounding the alarm. For example, a ground-feeding bird like a robin is going to squawk about threats on the ground--such as a cat--while a tree-top feeding bird like a tanager is going to squawk about threats from the air--such as a hawk. You might have some experience with this process already, for instance, if you know who or what is coming up the road just by the tone of your dog's bark or the wag of it's tail. It is all about reading body language.
In Learning the Language of the Birds, Jon Young out-lines a systematic process for distinguishing between normal or "baseline" bird songs versus their alarm calls. In theory at least, it isn't necessary to be able to identify which species of bird is making the call, as long as you know it's perferred habitat (low, middle, or high) in the tree cover. In practice, however, you have to learn at least the most common song birds in your area to develop your skills, then you can extrapolate that information to other species you are not so familiar with.
Jon Young also produced an eight CD series called Advanced Bird Language. The former tape, Learning the Language of the Birds is still the most important one for understanding the basic theory of bird language. The value of the additional series is that Jon Young puts theory into practice, describing the process of learning and using bird language. Especially helpful are Jon Young's numerous stories of field experiences where he and others have used bird language to read the forest around them. He gives tangible examples of how disturbances ripple through the concentric rings of nature.
Remember: Learning the Language of the Birds is also included in the Seeing Through Native Eyes series!
Also be sure to see these related pages:
Bird Identification Books & Games
The Music of Wild Birds
Hand-Feeding Birds
Bird Houses
Return to Nature, Wildlife & Tracking Guides
Return to Granny's Country Store