Scientists are decoding the songbird’s complex calls

I am close to a herd of mountain chicadees that feed on the pine nuts. The diverse pine cone air in the various Sierra Nevada is filled with different types of birds that depend on the diverse pine cone crop in Sierra Nevada.

The strong “Chick-A-Dee” call comes out between bird boxes. Chickdees communicate with each other about food sources – and we are tinner.

Mountain Chickdees is a family member ParidaeWhich are famous for complex audio communication systems and cognitive capabilities. Along with consultants, behavioral environmental scientists Vladimir Pravosodov and Curry branchI am studying Mountain Chickdees on our study site Experimental forest fencesOutside Treki, California, PhD research. I focus on how to transfer these birds to a variety of information with their calls.

Cold autumn air reminds me of the mountain that it will be in the winter soon. It is time to leave the mountainous cocates for marital marital partnerships that they had while raising their chicks to form larger herds. The formation of social groups is not always simple; Young Chickdees joins new pieces, and social dynamics should be created before winter storms arrive.

I can hear them do this loudly. There is an unusual variety of complex calls, with “GARGLE calls” to the front, from individuals who announce their dominance over other Flock members.

Check the bird calls and decompose them He is To become increasing popularity field of study , Also, scholars are also discovered That many birds – including mountain chickdees – Follow the methodological rules To exchange important information, Tension together clips Like words in a sentence.

Songs for calls

For social animals, communication is a decisive part of daily life. Communication can come in the form From visual, chemical, touch, electrical or audio signals.

Birds are very sound, and often depend on the audio communication to interact effectively with their environments and herd organs. Moderate singers, including Cardinate, Bluebirds, Wrens and Blackbirds, have two main categories of audio: Songs and calls.

Songs are primaries used in the spring, during the breeding season. Males sing in moderate areas to attract females and defend areas.

The calls are essentially any sound that is not considered a song. This category includes an unlimited variety of sounds that transmit all types of basic information.

Most types of songbirds have complex songs and somewhat simple calls. This is why sounds look more melodic during the spring, when birds attract their colleagues and reproduce.

However, Chickdees is unusual in that it sings very simple songs for The complexity of their calls. Research indicates that this is largely due to Social structure and complex environments. Living in herds of the majority of the year means that they need a detailed communication system for the year. This is contrary Many other types of tweets Which is more single during the non -compensation season.

Scientists know a Many about birds: that it Extremely organized It consists of multiple units that are connected together in “phrases”, such as how to fill music notes together in a song.

Some species treat her song to look more impressive, by integrating new elements or performing The impressive vocal exploits by modifying the note – Imagine an impressive highway or note.

Some songs must learn their songs from their parents and other adult males During a sensitive period In the first few months of their lives. that it Similar to how human children should learn How to speak from adults during a similar sensitive period.

On the other hand, we know relatively little about the structure and organization of complex calls. Scientists are often considered not exciting and simple calls compared to birds. However, it can be said that calls are the most important type of pronunciation, at least for very social bird species.

Translated by mountain Christadee calls

I spend my days on our site on the beautiful Sierra Nevada site, and I follow and record Chickdees while they communicate with each other. I have taken many focal recordings, as I stand in the woods with a directional microphone, and I define young and behaviors in actual time.

I also have hundreds of hours of recordings that are taken by the mechanical registration devices called Audiomoths. This allows me to record audio in the absence of people.

A large -scale audio ammunition has not yet been documented from Mountain Chickdees completely. There are five basic categories of calls:

• Call callsDelivery of identity, type of name, and location.

• “Chick-A-Dee”: Coordination of the herd movement and communicating a variety of complex information about the environment, from food availability to the presence and type of predator.

• Alarm calls: Alerting others about the presence of a predator.

• Begging calls: Chicks or females use them to derive male nutrition behavior.

• Gargling callsAnnouncing hegemony over other individuals in a herd, which is used primarily males.

“Chick-A-Dee” calls contain several elements similar to the basic elements of human rules. Basically, many voices pronounced by Chickdee mean different things, similar to words in human languages. and How to combine Chickdee combines these voices Change the meaning. Words are important, just like grammatical matters in the human language. If Chickdee has a phrase It no longer transmits the same meaningEven if it consists of the same elements.

“Chick-A-Dee” appeal to Mountain Chickdee It contains six elementsKnown as notes or clips, can be combined in hundreds of unique groups to say many different things. These elements are classified as A, A/B, B, C, D and DH.

Although scientists do not fully know the meaning of every note in different contexts, it is generally believed that the notes usually contain information identification about how important the topic is to the caller, while the notes A/B and B tends to increase the listener informing the topic of the conversation. The notes C contain information on the subject of the call, often transmitting food notes, and not notes D information about the excitement and urgency of the message, including the level of threatening the predator or the size of the source of the food. Destications D mainly works like an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence, while other notes transmit more specific information.

Mountain Chickdees can use “Chick-A-Dee” calls to transfer hundreds of different phrases related to navigation in their habitats and social environments. As a hypothetical example, the mountain call call may contain the construction of the following sentence: AAA/BBDD, which can almost translate into something like, “Listen to me (AA): there is a predator (A/B) near (B) and the medium threat level (DD).”

If the request for observation turns to Dabda/BA, the sentence will appear more like: “Listen to the note, closely from the predator worth noting, listen to me.” Despite the presence of all the same elements, this sentence is now more difficult to understand it. The irregular notes that confuse the tools can be mixed, preventing them from absorbing the correct meaning of the call.

This “translation” is an example that depends on what we have I learned from operating experiencesBut the exact meaning depends on the specific population and the surrounding environment.

“Chick-A-Dee” call analysis

Again in the laboratory, I can analyze the endless hours of registration using a Deep learning algorithm I have been modified to determine the specific calls of Chickdee residents.

Then use RAVEN Pro Program,, Which was developed by a Cornell Bird Science Laboratory, to inspect these calls and visually analyze them on a spectrum: a visual representation of the sound, with a frequency on the vertical axis, and the time on the horizontal axis. This perception allows me to study the intention of calls in great detail.

The spectrum study can only make me so far. The next step is the “Chick-A-Dee” test in the wild manner. Using the audio editing program, I tackle the construction of the total calls either to follow or violate grammatical rules. After that, I broadcast these treated recordings in the forest and notice how Chickdees interact with incorrect calls from the grammatical point of view, which would look like moisture for them.

I hope this combination of the trial test of calls and careful visual analysis will provide a step towards understanding the accurate complications of Chickdee communication. I try the country in the meaning of different clips and construction of the sentence, grammatical rules.

Again in the woods with the directional microphone, watch Chickdees fluff, I hear different versions of “Chick-A-Dee” calls. Some notes, which indicate a higher level of excitement. Others offer more notes A, B or C, communicate with the most specific information, and identify information. I am also surrounded by GARGLE calls, harsh calls and barely soft calls.

The next time you find yourself in the forest, stop and listen to Chickdees talking to each other. You may be able to hear the difference in their calls and know that they are talking about different things – and that the grammar is important.

This article has been republished from ConversationAn independent, non -profit news organization brings you facts and trusted analysis to help you understand our complex world. Written by: Sofia Mary Halleyand Nevada University, Renault

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Sofia Marie Haley does not work with shares or consult them in or receive funding from any company or institution that will benefit from this article, and has not revealed any related affiliations that exceed its academic appointment.