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Home » Radio Archive » Daily Show » Birdsong Warm-Ups

Birdsong Warm-Ups

February 8, 2017
https://podcast.scienceupdate.com/170208_sciup_warm.mp3

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4561819065_c46ec75db3_b Rafy Rodriguez CC BY NC-SA 2.0, via flickr
An Adelaide’s warbler sings in Puerto Rico. (Rafy Rodriguez/CC BY NC-SA 2.0, via flickr, cropped)

BOB HIRSHON (host):

Songbird warm-ups. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.

(Human singer warming up)

Singers sound their best after they’ve warmed up their vocal chords. And the same may be true for songbirds, according to San Diego State University behavioral ecologist Hannes Schraft. He and his colleagues found that over the course of the day, male Adelaide’s warblers improved their performance of songs like this:

(Adelaide’s warbler song)

HANNES SCHRAFT:

It’s really difficult to both change the pitch a lot and to also sing those notes really quickly. It has been shown that in human singers warming up actually improves the perceived tone quality, and we found something similar with the birds.

HIRSHON:

The researchers write in the journal Animal Behaviour that the vocal warm-ups could be one explanation for the cacophony of birdsong heard in many places every morning. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.

LEARN MORE

Story by Susanne Bard

Vocal warm-up by C.J. Elder

 

 

Category: Daily ShowTag: Acoustics & Sound, Animal Behavior
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