During the breeding season, male birds sing to attract females and to warn other males to keep out of their territories. These songs are often musical. In addition, birds use a variety of calls to sound alarm, to keep track of each other, and to tell each other about food. These calls are often short and not very musical. Some birds use non-vocal sounds in place of songs or calls. For example, woodpeckers tap rhythms on tree trunks. This drumming may attract a mate or mark territorial boundaries.
Not all birds begin to sing at the same time. Sunrise is the reference time. The degree of morning dawn triggers for every species the waking sensation.
Like human languages, different bird species have different calls as well and can be identified by their way of singing or calling. Although some species are able to copy other species!
Learn to identify birds by their singing
This family activity needs the help of one person to play the songs.
First listen to the different sounds and look to which bird each belongs.
Declare the different corner of the room as nests. Have your children write the birds names on paper and place them in the corners, so they know which corner is which species nest. For each birds voice they are supposed to „fly“ in a different nest.
Now you play the first voice and they have to fly to the correct nest. Continue with the next voice, and so on. When the children get more confident switch faster, change the order.
In this way bird songs can be learned quickly, as they are connected with movement.
If you want to add more voices, mark different areas in the room as the matching nests and xeno-canto.org provides a huge selection to choose from.
