1. cortex
  2. Birds in Cities

Birds in Cities

By cortex on December 8, 2006.

The helter-skelter of urban life even affects birds. I swear my cockatiel is better behaved since I left London; now I know why:

Rapid urbanisation around the world and the subsequent increase in ambient noise has proven problematic for animals which use sound to communicate. For birds in particular, city noises can mask the exchange of vital information and prevent males from attracting mates.

To see how birds reacted to increased noise, Hans Slabbekoorn of Leiden University recorded the songs of great tits in 10 European cities including London, Prague, Paris and Amsterdam. He then compared the songs with birds of the same species in nearby forests. The results, published today in the journal Current Biology, showed that songs important in attracting mates and defending territory were markedly different in the urban setting.

"The songs diverged in several parameters," said Dr Slabbekoorn. "In 10 out of 10 comparisons we found that birds in cities use a higher minimum frequency. The songs in cities are faster, especially the duration of the first element of each of those repetitive song phrases."

He explained the change as a response to increased low frequencies in cities, such as traffic noise.

Tags
Culture
Categories
Life Sciences

More like this

Noise pollution drives away some birds, but benefits those that stay behind
Cities are noisy places. If you ever get annoyed by the constant din of traffic, machinery and increasingly belligerent inhabitants, think about what songbirds must think. Many birds rely on songs to demarcate their territories and make their advances known to mates. They listen out not just for…
City birds struggle to make themselves heard
My first ever feature article has just been published in this week's issue of New Scientist. It's about the ways in which songbirds are coping with the noisy din of cities. Low-frequency urban noises mask the calls that they use to attract mates, defend territories and compete with rivals. The race…
The harmonic duets of mosquitoes in love
The familiar buzzing sound made by a mosquito may be irritating to us humans, but it is an important mating signal. The sound, produced by the beats of the insect's wings, has a characteristic frequency called the "flight tone"; when produced by a female, it signals her presence to nearby males,…
What do noisy oceans mean for fish?
Picture this: It's Monday morning, and you wake up groggy to your alarm because the incessant traffic and blaring of truck horns from the local highway kept you from getting a good nights' sleep. You'd go back to sleep, but your spouse is already up watching TV and that annoying anchor for the 6 AM…