The language of calls and songs
To call one another, birds produce sounds of extremely high frequency and strength. Only a few species such as pelicans, storks, and certain vultures have no call. The acoustic calls used by birds amongst themselves form a language of sorts. Their songs, which are longer and generally related to courtship, consist of a series of notes and usually contain melodies.
 The photographs above show the areas of the brain activated during hearing and singing in the canary. |
Birdsong is usually heard in spring, whereas the calls, much simpler than songs,
are used by both sexes and heard throughout the year. Birdcalls allow swift communication via simple messages without a great expenditure of energy.26 These calls' main functions can be listed as follows:
- to establish a bird's species
- to indicate the bird's gender
- to show its location
- to demarcate and defend a territory
- to advertise a source of food
- to let young birds recognize their parents
- to keep the flock together
- to warn of the presence of an enemy
- to intimidate an enemy
- for courtship
- to mark the changeover of responsibility for nesting duties such as incubating or feeding
- to practice and perfect songs
 The songs of hummingbirds and the way they learn them astonish researchers. Each song is unique to the individual. Hummingbirds are not born with innate songs; they learn how to sing from their mothers and fathers. (http://www.abc.net.au/ worldtoday/s162563.htm) |
Usually, birdsong is not composed of randomly produced sounds. Songs are exceptionally diverse melodies of specific meaning, sung for a purpose, and are much more complex than the calls used for signaling. They are generally used by males to advertise and defend a territory, or in courtship. It is also believed that songs serve a social function. When a pair is building their nest, they also establish communication by song. Experiments on caged birds have also demonstrated that birds find it easier to learn songs if another bird is present, but out of sight, in another cage.
Male and female songbirds have different brain structures, particularly in the regions related to sound production. With many songbird species, the males can sing, but the females cannot. The males use "song" to call their mates or designate a tree, pole, or electrical cable as a place to perch. Each species sings a song with its own characteristics, but any given species' songs display variations according to age, sex, particular time of year, and geographical location-appropriate for the environment in which they live. For example, birds that live in meadows use "songs of flight." Similarly, ones that live in the dense foliage of rain forests or reed thickets have loud voices to compensate for reduced visibility.
Knowing which song to sing in which environment, and the meaning and purpose of each song, are not something that each individual bird can work out for itself. Behavior indicative of such wisdom and foresight by creatures with no reason or judgment exhibits the inspiration of God in living creatures. He creates each creature with its necessary characteristics and inspires its rational behavior.
  It's not easy to identify where a warning sound originates. Usually two ears are needed to hear a noise and identify where it is coming from. Thanks to their keen hearing, birds can also evaluate and verify important elements of a song message such as intensity and time interval. In this way, they break the message's "code" and identify the sender's location. Judging the interval between the sound wave reaching first one ear and then the other is more effective at low frequencies. At higher frequencies, sounds' wavelengths diminish, and it becomes increasingly difficult to identify the source. On the other hand, there is one frequency of sound whose source is impossible to determine, using the time difference in the sound's reaching the listener's two ears. If a bird is using this frequency as an alarm frequency, then naturally it is also trying to protect itself from an enemy. (Lesley J. Rogers & Gisela Kaplan, Songs, Roars and Rituals, Communication In Birds, Mammals and Other Animals, USA, 2000, pages 93-94) This superior skill which God has made manifest in birds is one of the wonders of creation. |
  "Does He Who created the heavens and Earth not have the power to create the same again? Yes indeed! He is the Creator, the All-Knowing. His command when He desires a thing is just to say to it, 'Be!' and it is." (Qur'an, 36:81-82) |
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