Birds in Cities Sing Louder
Great tits are tweaking their tweets to be heard in noisy urban areas, but for their country cousins it is like they are speaking a different language.
Scientists at Aberystwyth University found male great tits in 20 UK towns and cities sang at a higher pitch to be heard above the man-made noise.
Rural birds were confused by urban bird song while city birds “didn’t understand the lower rural pitch”.
The male great tit sings to defend his territory and attract a mate.
The singing was played back to rural male tits during the breeding season when they are at their most aggressive, but there was a “slower and weaker” response than normal from the countryside birds…. (continues @ BBC News)
