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Individual birds may be sensitive enough to identify each other through their calls. Many birds that nest in colonies can locate their chicks using their calls. [64] Alarm calls are used to sound alarm to other individuals. Food-begging calls are made by baby birds to beg for food, such as the "wah" of infant blue jays. [65]
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs (often simply birdsong ) are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding , songs (relatively complex vocalizations) are distinguished by function from calls (relatively simple vocalizations).
Bird calls and songs, which are produced in the syrinx, are the major means by which birds communicate with sound. This communication can be very complex; some species can operate the two sides of the syrinx independently, allowing the simultaneous production of two different songs. [ 105 ]
Other ornamentation includes elongated tail feathers and brightly coloured bare areas on the face. These colours can be derived from pigments, or as in the Bali myna, structural colour, caused by light scattering off parallel collagen fibers. The irises of many species are red and yellow, although those of younger birds are much darker. [3]
It is an old-fashioned habit of the Beijingers to teach their larks 13 kinds of sounds in a strict order (called "the 13 songs of a lark", Chinese: 百灵十三套). The larks that can sing the full 13 sounds in the correct order are highly valued, while any disruption in the songs will decrease their value significantly. [26]
In addition to disrupting migration patterns, the artificial lighting can reportedly disorient the birds and cause them to fly directly into windows. Why birds can cause 9/11 light tribute to go ...
This is roughly the spectral region occupied by the red- and green-sensitive pigments in the primate retina, and this visual pigment dominates the colour sensitivity of birds. [28] In penguins, this pigment appears to have shifted its absorption peak to 543 nm, presumably an adaptation to a blue aquatic environment. [29]
Another courtship sound, thought to be made solely by the males, is the boom, created by air rushing through the primaries after a quick downward flex of the wings during a daytime dive. In defense of their nests, the females make a rasping sound, and males clap their wings together. [ 16 ]