Pick a topic relating to bird vocalisation or sounds. Collect together references, links and videos and write a short summary of the topic (max 300 words).
You will present your background research to the class, and your notes will be collected and shared on the wiki.
This background research will inform the exhibition content, (you may however choose different topics for your main project)
Possible Research topics:
Furthermore, there are some research topics, which relate to approaches to birds in music and the (sonic) arts. Here, the following topics are possible to start from (some Materials available through Readings and Links):
Aurelian Ammon
Sonation is the sound produced by birds, using mechanisms other than the syrinx. The term sonate is described as the deliberate production of sounds, not from the throat, but rather from structures such as the bill, wings, tail, feet and body feathers, or by the use of tools [Wikipedia]. The birds do this for different reasons. One is of course to impress while finding a mate and during fights. Other species show annoyance or fear. Some birds use tools to produce sounds, like for example Palm Cockatoo.
Links and References:
Anna's hummingbirds chirp with their tails: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_2JFK-tnnE
Ruffed Grouse Drumming in Maine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roi8jb9gsWk
Snipe Drumming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xst3qhAVazU
Bill clattering from a white stork couple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAdKJ_Pntls
Palm cockatoos beat drum like Ringo Starr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_wh3liNT_o
Three Barn Owls (Tyto alba) hissing and clicking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_LhGoHN0m8
Red capped Manakin Wing Sounds HD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySg9N7f6iww
Non vocal sounds: https://www.thespruce.com/nonverbal-bird-sounds-387324
Type of bird sounds: https://www.thespruce.com/what-types-of-sounds-do-birds-make-387332
Daria Babco
Links and References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSB71jNq-yQ Lyre Bird sings like a chainsaw (seen that already)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGhVXgMoz4g parrot dubsteps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R4Epq5Q-JE parrot sings adele
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OfoExZ-o-U raven talking german
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcFE7R2UIwA meow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4haCibUU0o parrots meowing compilation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnFot3BOZxQ cat mimics bird
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRgvpjcSNcM catbird mimics many other birds and even a frog(at 3:55). The theory behind this is that the male with the greatest repertoire is demonstration to females that he has been around and has survived many many mating seasons, because the more you live the more you learn.
https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/birdsong/4/ how birds learn a song. Nestlings are listening closely to nearby males and use their songs as templates for their own songs. Then they move to their own territory and practice their songs until they are perfect.
https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/northern-mockingbird-sings-hundreds-of-borrowed-songs/ The overall effect is that listeners never quite know what will come out of his beak next—and for female mockingbirds it’s variety that counts.
https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/how-a-parrot-learns-its-name-in-the-wild/ parrots mimic a lot at home. What do they mimic in the wild? They mimic/say other parrots signature calls (names). They are learning the parents names in the nest and their own name becomes similar to the parents names.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_bird Theory why they mimic humans: mistake it with birds; learn “dialect” to be more part of the “family” with human; showing of large repertoire; mimic as their predators to protect themselves; developing auditory map of their territory
https://www.thespruce.com/bird-mimics-and-mimicry-386219 summary: Many Birds are mimicking songs and sounds. But they can also mimic alarms, music, predator noises and human speech. The older the bird gets the more it learned to mimic. Younger birds start mimicking the sounds their parents make. The bird's vocalization depends on its environment. There are some theories why birds mimic other birds: they want to impress a mate, they want to protect their nest, they mimic predator sounds to get other birds away from a food source and have it for them alone, they defend territory, they want to be socially accepted, maybe learn some sounds by accident.
Unrelated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LJY0a1dmhg learn bird songs by translating the sounds to a sentence.
https://www.facebook.com/DieSendungmitderMaus/videos/1878561248844047/ what does the rooster sound like in different languages?
Adriana Bodor-Pék
Links and References:
Why people imitate bird’s songs?
There are two main reason to imitate bird’s song:
/same sonic or non-sonic decoys are also used to frighten away harmful birds. For example this hawk decoy./
About a crow hunting.
Sound equipment plays an important role in the toolking of Bird-Watchers. “Sound information can assist in the locating, watching, identification and sexing of birds.”
(a few) Musical Instruments imitating bird whistles and songs:
“easiest “ way to imitate bird songs is to master one’s whistling skills. Like this gentleman. Need some help? Of course there is a youtube tutorial on that. The most famous impostonator was Percy Edwards, an ornithologist and entertainer. One of his shows.
Steph Dickerson
Links and References:
Know Your Bird Sounds [book]
A Beginner’s Guide to Common Bird Sounds and What They Mean [article and audio]
Bird Communication [article and audio]
Alarm and Mobbing Calls [article and audio]
House Sparrow Sounds [short explanation and audio]
Tobias Dupuch
As in Humans, the songbirds phonation system involves three main motor systems: respiration, vocal organ and vocal tract.
Sound is generated with two independently controlled sound sources, which reside in a uniquely avian vocal organ, the syrinx. However, the physical sound generation mechanism in the syrinx shows strong analogies to that in the human larynx. (Riede and Goller, 2018).
The sound is produced by vibrations of some or all of the the walls of the syrinx and the pessulus (a delicate bar of cartilage connecting the dorsal and ventral extremities of the first pair of bronchial cartilages), caused by air flowing through the syrinx. The muscles modulate the sound shape by changing the tension of the membranes and the bronchial openings.
The songbird vocal apparatus is capable of much higher speed and some birds can make two noises at once through a separation of the syrinx halves.
Links and References: Riede, T. and Goller, F. (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2896990/ [Accessed 23 Feb. 2018].
YouTube. (2018). How all birds make and control sounds. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSruNL-YbA4 [Accessed 23 Feb. 2018].lö
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Lateralization of bird song. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateralization_of_bird_song [Accessed 23 Feb. 2018].
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Illu_larynx.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrinx_(bird_anatomy)#/media/File:Syrinx.jpg
Katharina Durrer
Links and References:
https://www.bl.uk/the-language-of-birds/articles/how-birds-sing - How does birds sing - an explanation
https://www.birdnote.org/show/how-birds-produce-sound
- Influence of the amount of sets of muscles around the Syrinx on the birds sound
http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/songs/index.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/songs/index.html - a lot of birds examples - why, how, when they sing
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982200006618 - Bird communication: Two voices are better than one - a sience article about pinguine - a reason (explanation) why birds have two voices you
The syrinx is the sound generating organ inside of birds.It countains membranes that vibrate and produce sound waves while air from the lungs is being routed over them.The muscles around the Syrinx control the details of song production; birds with more voice muscles are able to produce more complex songs.The syrinx is located much lower than the vocal cords of humans, it's located at the junction of the bronchial tubes that lead to the lungs.This means that the syrinx has two potential acoustic sources, one in each bronchus.
The seperate membranes on each bronchus generate distinct sounds that get mixed up when going through the higher vocal tract.This complex design means, that birds have a significantly higher sound variety than humans. They're able to produce the same sounds but are able to sing two-part.
As an experiment as to why birds possess this two-voices-phenomenon, researchers have studied pinguins and their behaviour regarding sound.An interplay of offset-fundamentals and harmonics produced beats leads to the emperor pinguins being able to distinctly identify their peers.There could be a friend/fledgling recognition behind it.
Alessa Gassmann
Links and References:
Papers and articles about the similarities of birds and human learning a language.
human and birds having the same challange: To learn and decode a complex auditory input. They have similarities in theire neural recognition system. Both are using the system of learning different vocals and combining them differently to create new calls or words rather than creating new calls and words over and over again.
Birds as humans gain their abilities early in life by listening to adults and memorizing and practizing their songs. the auditory system in both humans and songbirds is organized hierarchically.
In this Article you can read about genetic similarities of birds and humans.
Biologists/Scientists trying to find out more informations about the evolution of the human language and also the evolution of Birds and they wrote for example that they now can find out when and why birds lost theire teeth.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26694-humans-and-birds-share-the-same-singing-genes/
http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003219
This page gives information about birds respiratory system. Because of the way their lungs work, birds can even sing and fly at the same time. Because the syrinx (singing organ) is individually controlled, birds are vocal gmnasts. Some birds can even make two tones at the same time
http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/birdrespiration.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWMmyVu1ueY
Daniel Holler
Links and References:
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/noise-pollution-bird-calls-san-francisco
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/jun/03/great-tit-city-bird-song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4dYWhkSbTU
https://ecologicablog.wordpress.com/2015/02/19/urbanisation-is-changing-the-way-birds-sing/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaLRMq8sgYM
Tingting Jiang
Links and References:
[Article]
Different Organs Produce Songs In Same Way (human and birds)
Language and birsong may use the same brain structures
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150512-birds-hold-the-key-to-language
Birds use sounds to “SEE IN THE DARK”
https://www.bl.uk/the-language-of-birds/articles/how-birds-hear-songs
[Video]
Making music from bird song | Ben Mirin | TEDxNYU
Ben’s talk introduces us to a whole new way of understanding and appreciating diversity in the natural world with music composed entirely from the sounds of wildlife to create an unprecedented synthesis of human and animal vocal music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUD4ED5hezQ
The interaction that is already exists between human and bird
Birdsong is a sound which most people find reassuring. There's a reason: over hundreds of thousands of years we've learned that when the birds are singing, things are safe. It's when they stop you need to be worried.
Human psychological activities
https://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_the_4_ways_sound_affects_us/transcript#t-126694
Flinzenz Fleutenegger
Why do they imitate sounds?
First of all, it is not possible to give a general answer and secondly, these are more theories than facts.
Impress mates
Birds with a bigger variety of songs can show their intelligence which attracts other birds. Usually, trough this the males attract the females with their ability to have a higher chance to survive and have good genes.
Scare other birds
Some birds imitate songs and calls of predator to scare other birds and preventing them to go to their nest. They do not only mimic sounds of other birds but also cat, dogs and so on.
The same principle applies to keeping other birds away from their food source
Defending Territory
By mimicking sounds, the birds can appear as if more birds are inhabitants of this territory.
Social Acceptance
Birds can learn songs and calls of other birds so they can feel as part of their flock.
Accidental Learning
Because there are some sounds in their environment they can start to take these sounds into their repertoire.
What birds do mimic?
African gray parrot, American crow, Blue jay, Brown thrasher, Crested oropendola, Eurasian jay, European starling, Gray catbird, Lawrence's thrush, Marsh warbler, Northern mockingbird, Phainopepla, Steller's jay
https://www.thespruce.com/bird-mimics-and-mimicry-386219
How do they chose sounds to imitate?
Birds that were growing up in urban areas learn more often unnatural sounds and the ones that are living in i.e. rainforest are rather used to mimic the sounds of other species.
Lyrebird
During the peak of the breading time the males sing for four hours per during the day. They are able to mimic because their very advanced syrinx which is the most complex muscle of all songbirds. But also the females mimic other sounds to look for food and defend their nest.
Links and References:
Attenborough: the amazing Lyre Bird sings like a chainsaw! Now in high quality | BBC Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSB71jNq-yQ
Nokia tune
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4AdzutZqNA
Lyre Bird Laser Gun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA0tP-p7m40
Bird Mimics and Mimicry
https://www.thespruce.com/bird-mimics-and-mimicry-386219
Why Do Some Birds Mimic The Sounds Of Other Species?
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/why-do-some-birds-mimic-the-sounds-of-other-species/
Interspecific social dominance mimicry in birds
https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/172/4/910/2433421
Can experienced birds select for Müllerian mimicry?
https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/19/2/362/214147
The mimics among us — birds pirate songs for personal profit
https://theconversation.com/the-mimics-among-us-birds-pirate-songs-for-personal-profit-30195
Manuel Leuthold
Interactive Swarm Orchestra - by the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology (ICST)
The Interactive Swarm Orchestra (ISO) is a tools that helps to create computer music, based on swarm algorithms. The authors believe that simulations of life-like systems (like swarms) can help to address some of the fundamental challenges of musical creation and performances.
Swarm simulations are an important part of artificial life research and explore principles of self- organisation and emergence of group behaviour.
The output of the project was a series of C++ libraries for swarm simulation, sound synthesis, sound spatialisation and video tracking. This libraries could be used for other projects, like performances or the creation of music and visuals.
Conclusion of the researchers:
The creation of interactive life- like simulations at the intersection between human per- former and musical algorithms creates an interesting balance between complexity and intuition for the creation and performance of computer music.
Links and References:
Videos:
Swarms controlling an audio patch:
https://vimeo.com/14846127#at=38
https://vimeo.com/14847559#at=58
Swarms Dance Performance with video tracking:
Example project that is build on the tools of the ISO.
Flowspace 2
Swarm based, interactive and audiovisual creation.
The position of the visitor's fingertips affects the spatial distribution of virtual points to which the swarm responds via its specific behaviours. Combination of a virtual environment that is affected by the visitors interaction and the swarms autonomous behaviour, which together controls the development of the musical and visual works.
Links and References:
Videos:
Links:
Ismael Möri
From a more abstract point of view, a bird swarm behaviour is the collective motion of a large number of individuals. A swarm has a main direction of movement and an attraction force but no core.
Stare-swarms in switzerland. They often fly at speeds of 40 miles or more per hour, and in a dense group the space between them may be only a bit more than their body length.
“There’s a lot we don’t know now,” says Heppner, “but I think we’re actually going to know how and why birds fly in organized groups within five years.”-University of Rhode Island biologist Frank Heppner, 2017
Stare-swarms in switzerland
Links and References:
http://www.audubon.org/magazine/march-april-2009/how-flock-birds-can-fly-and-move-together
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_behaviour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6nvvFkbRkY
Carlo Natter
Birds use sounds not only for basic calls but also as a defence mechanism both against predators or to defend their territory against other birds.
Some examples of birds using sounds, songs or mimicry to defend themselves:
Burrowing Owl
When the chicks feel threatened, they mimic the sound of a rattlesnake. Since these venomous vipers live in a similar way, the predators run for their lives after hearing the hissing sound. Unfortunately, this technique is useless if the predator is a rattlesnake itself. (this is obviously a great comedic moment)
Hoatzin
When predators such as the great black hawk attack a hoatzin nesting colony, the adults fly noisily about, trying to divert the predator's attention, while the chicks move away from the nest and hide among the thickets. If discovered, however, they drop into the water and swim under the surface to escape, then later use their clawed wings to climb back to the safety of the nest.
Claiming and defending fruitful territory is vital to a birds survival, sound is also used to express which territory a bird claims as its own and to defend this territory.
Territory defense
Singing
Singing is one of the most common ways birds advertise that a territory belongs to them. Songs will carry quite far, and birds will perch near the edge of their territory to broadcast their claim to the maximum range. At the same time, a strong, vibrant song will help attract a mate. For some species, such as the northern mockingbird, a more complex song will help birds defend a larger territory and is more attractive to females.
Drumming
Woodpeckers and several types of game birds claim territory by drumming as an alternative to singing. These low-pitched, rhythmic sounds – whether made by pounding on a hollow tree or by using air sacs – will carry great distances. This alerts competing birds that the territory is not available, as well as lets potential mates know that a strong, healthy bird has claimed the location.
Links and References:
Burrowing Owl - https://birdeden.com/birds-with-really-strange-defense-mechanisms
Hoatzin - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoatzin#Behaviour
Territory defense - https://www.thespruce.com/how-birds-claim-territory-386444
Territory defense - https://ornithology.com/ornithology-lectures/territoriality-of-birds/
Hoatzin claws - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87_shPJxdns
Burrowing Owl Rattlesnake - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCj57G2wo70
Michael Schönenberger
Birdsongs and calls consist of a chain of acoustic elements which are arranged in a particular temporal order.
Using a spectrogram, the mysterious parts of the bird's language can be explored visually. Differences between species, dialects and emotions become much clearer.
Reading spectrograms is like reading sheet music; the song runs from left to right, with the high-pitched notes near the top and the low-pitched notes farther below. Unlike human compositions the horizontal width of each note on a spectrogram determines how long it lasts—anywhere from a few seconds to a fraction of one. Meanwhile, the shape indicates quality (amplitude). A whistle, for instance, looks like a single, nearly horizontal line, while a nasal sound produces a bunch of horizontal lines stacked on top of one another.
On the other hand, there are people that use Spectrograms to draw shapes or forms. Artificially generated sounds are used to create visual art, which is especially interesting since the sound itself isn't recognizable but surprises with its visual spectrum.
Links and References:
http://www.audubon.org/news/start-using-spectrograms-read-bird-songs-and-calls - Why do we need Spectrograms?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg4IHbiITd0 - Introduction to Spectrogram Analysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcBDSoVs42M - Drawing with Spectrogram visuals
http://u.osu.edu/biomuseum/tag/bird-song/ - Bird song Patterns, OSU Bio Museum
Ju Young Yi
Dinosaurs are similar to birds in many ways. It is interesting to see how the birds are keeping the features of ancient species on the earth, especially in the way of making their sounds.
Following articles and interview shows the similarity between the bone structure of the dinosaurs and certain birds. For instance, unlikely to our prejudice that giant Dinosaurs would have a strong and roaring voice like we used to see in movies, it seems like they had rather cooing sound like doves nowadays.
While seeing the plenty of evidence supporting the relationship between the two different species, we can see that birds are embodying the aspects of ancient nature. This can also mean they are keeping the very fundamental history of the sound of animals.
Links and References:
[Video]
Similarities between the sounds of Dinosaurs and birds
[Article]
https://news.utexas.edu/2016/07/11/dinosaurs-may-have-cooed-like-doves
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-dinosaurs-shrank-and-became-birds/
[Interview]
Roaring of Dinosaur:
https://www.npr.org/2016/07/16/486279631/new-research-debunks-the-dinosaurs-roar
[Further study element]
Are birds really dinosaurs?:
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/avians.html
#/media/File:Syrinx.jpg){kind=link}