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Bird song is a popular subject in poetry. Famous examples inspired by bird song include the 1177 Persian poem "The Conference of the Birds", in which the birds of the world assemble under the wisest bird, the hoopoe, to decide who is to be their king. [161]
Euphonias are members of the genus Euphonia, a group of Neotropical birds in the finch family. They and the chlorophonias comprise the subfamily Euphoniinae.. The genus name is of Greek origin and refers to the birds' pleasing song, meaning "sweet-voiced" (εὖ eu means "well" or "good" and φωνή phōnē means "sound", hence "of good sound").
Birds are capable of producing continuous song during both inhalation and exhalation, and may sing continuously for several minutes. [11] For example, the skylark (Alauda arvensis) is capable of producing non-stop song for up to one hour. [12] Some birds change their song characteristics during inhalation versus exhalation.
Certain words in the English language represent animal sounds: the noises and vocalizations of particular animals, especially noises used by animals for communication. The words can be used as verbs or interjections in addition to nouns, and many of them are also specifically onomatopoeic.
Other birds (especially non-passeriforms) sometimes have songs to attract mates or hold territory, but these are usually simple and repetitive, lacking the variety of many oscine songs. The monotonous repetition of the common cuckoo or little crake can be contrasted with the variety of a nightingale or marsh warbler .
Song sparrows typically learn their songs from a handful of other birds that have neighboring territories. They are most likely to learn songs that are shared between these neighbors. Ultimately, they will choose a territory close to or replacing the birds that they have learned from.
The song of the lyrebird is a mixture of elements of its own song and mimicry of other species. Lyrebirds render with great fidelity the individual songs of other birds [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 16 ] and the chatter of flocks of birds, [ 17 ] [ 18 ] and also mimic other animals such as possums, [ 17 ] koalas and dingoes . [ 7 ]
A small, freely-moving projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds (and a few non-avian dinosaurs)—a bird's "thumb"—the word is Latin and means 'winglet'; it is the diminutive of ala, meaning 'wing'. Alula typically bear three to five small flight feathers, with the exact number depending on the species.