Page 27 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

SONG AND CALLS

SCREAMING DISPLAY
Swifts form high-speed "screaming parties" that
dash around in the sky calling loudly. This practice
seems to have a social significance within the
breeding colony. They call as
they approach the nest,
too, alerting their partner
to their imminent arrival.

HUNGER CALL
Baby birds stimulate their parents to feed them by
calling loudly, just like a human baby cries for
attention. They risk attracting a predator, so the
parent is forced to provide food to keep them quiet.

WHERE ARE YOU?
Young birds in large colonies may wander away from
the nest and can easily be lost. Only their own parents
MECHANICAL SOUNDS feed them. Loud, whining calls help these young gulls
Not all sounds that birds create are vocal. Some species produce to keep in touch with their parents.
distinctive mechanical sounds during their display that have the
same function as song, communicating with other birds within DAWN CHORUS
their species over long distances.The Snipe combines its bleating
sound with a visual display, using a steeply undulating, switchback No-one is really sure why so
flight. Some pigeons clap their wings together in display but also use many birds sing most persistently
this same movement to raise an alarm. Certain owls and nightjars do at dawn.It is a wonderful
a similar thing, clapping their wings beneath their bodies in display experience, especially in a large
flights.The woodpecker uses a purely mechanical sound (see below). wood just as the sky brightens
on a spring morning. Suddenly
DISPLAY DRUMMING all the territorial birds for miles
Snipe dive through the air with tail around sing loudly together; but
feathers outspread, creating a vibrant the performance is short-lived
bleating noise known as “drumming”.
and the song becomes erratic.

DRUM ROLL
A different mechanical sound, also
called “drumming”, is made by a EARLY PERFORMER
woodpecker. It creates a sudden In most areas the Robin is one of the
burst of sound by rapidly vibrating dominant songsters in the dawn chorus.
its bill against a resonant branch. It also sings under street lights at night,
The abrupt drum roll carries well apparently fooled by the artificial lighting.
through a dense forest.

25