Cardinals make a metallic “chip” call to warn of predators and warn off intruders. ![]() Foraging in treetops, chickadees call out “tseet” periodically to stay in contact with flock members, while their “chickadee-dee” call alerts flock members of food or danger. Calls are short, simple sounds that are innate, with important messages like, “Feed me!” “Predator alert!” or “I’m over here.” Calls are made by male and female, young and old, and they are heard all year long. These are classified as either calls or songs. Among these are the virtuosos of the bird world.īirds have a variety of vocal sounds for different situations. Songbirds include warblers, thrushes, sparrows, wrens, and finches, among others – over 4,600 species or nearly half of all birds worldwide. The s ongbirds are a group of passerine birds (small perching birds in the order Passeriformes) that are especially adept at singing. Some birds make non-vocal sounds, like woodpeckers drumming with their beaks or hummingbirds humming with their wings. Ducks quack, geese honk, loons yodel, and songbirds sing. Why do birds sing so much in the spring? Why make noise that could betray your presence to predators? What role does birdsong play in the annual cycle of a bird’s life, to be worth so much energy and risk? Besides the familiar chickadee-dee call, we now hear a whistled “hey, sweetie,” often answered by another chickadee: “Hey, sweetie! Hey, sweetie!” Soon a cardinal takes up the theme, “Come here, come here,” and later a bluebird, back from migration, joins in the chorus: “Ain’t I pretty!” By May, the orchestra, in full swing, fills the dawn with a symphony of birdsong. As the days grow longer in spring, chickadees start singing a different tune.
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