Bird sounds are far from random. They reflect a complex mix of environmental, geographic and physiological factors. The study, led by a doctoral student from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and relayed by Phys.org, was based on data from xeno-canto, a collaborative platform bringing together recordings of bird songs. These data represent 77% of known bird species, offering a unique global vision.
First major observation: the habitat of birds directly influences the frequency of the sounds they produce. In ecosystems marked by noise, birds adapt their songs to higher frequencies to prevent their signals from being “drowned” and thus be able to communicate effectively.
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Geographic latitude also plays a crucial role. The research team observed that species living at the same latitudes tend to produce similar sounds. This observation could help to better understand the influences of the environment on their evolution.
The impact of bird physiology
In addition to the environment, the morphology of birds also helps influence their songs. The study confirms that smaller birds generally produce higher frequency sounds, while larger species opt for lower frequencies. However, smaller species have a surprising advantage: they can emit a wider range of frequencies, an adaptive strategy for escaping predators. Lower frequencies can deceive enemies into the illusion of larger, less vulnerable prey.
By completing these discoveries, the researchers highlighted the importance of the shape of the beak in the production of sounds. Although previous studies have explored this link on a small scale, this global analysis sheds new light on how beak and body mass interact to determine the characteristics of bird songs.
Beyond the understanding of bird songs, this research contributes to a better understanding of “soundscapes”, that is to say the auditory ecosystems composed of all the sounds present in a given place.
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