Study: Chickadee song warns of danger

The Centre Daily Times ^ | Fri, Jun. 24, 2005 | RANDOLPH E. SCHMID -- Associated Press

[Willie Green]

Five little chickadees knocking at the door
One flew away and then there were four.
Chickadee, chickadee, happy today.
Chickadee, chickadee, fly away.

Four little chickadees singing in a tree
One flew away and then there were three.
Chickadee, chickadee, happy today.
Chickadee, chickadee, fly away.

Three little chickadees didn't know what to do
One flew away and then there were two.
Chickadee, chickadee, happy today.
Chickadee, chickadee, fly away.

Two little chickadees sitting in the sun
One flew away leaving only one.
Chickadee, chickadee, happy today.
Chickadee, chickadee, fly away.

One little chickadees not having any fun
She flew away and then there were none.
Chick-a-boom-chick-a-boom
Don't ya jes' love it
Chick-a-boom-chick-a-boom
Don't you jes' love it
Chick-a-boom-chick-a-boom
Don't ya jes' love it
Chick-a-boom-chick-a-boom-boom-boom

[speedy]

Hey -- Daddy Dewdrop -- hadn't thought of him in awhile. Chickadees are great little birds -- very tame, you can train them to take food from your hand. One of the tough ones who hang around all winter, and one of the pleasures of a late winter afternoon is hearing them scuffling around out there, looking for chow.

[Spirited]

Our now grown children figured that out when we had taught the chick-a-dees and some tit-mouses (mice?) to eat out of their hands at the slider door at the rear of our home.

Precious creatures all.

[kitkat]

Thanks, Willie. i've wondered for years about that Z sound. I heard the chickadees doing that and they were all in a pussywillow bush in the corner of our yard. It sounded as though they were all making that call at once...which produced a rapid, almost solid Zeezeezee sound.

[Feiny]

I can't read Chickadee without hearinf WC Fields!

[sweetliberty]

Birdie ping!

[ken21]

thanks.

i'll keep listening for the dee's.

[stands2reason]

Can you add me to your birdie list?

I have a pair of barn swallows nesting over my back door. Saw teeny tiny birdshell pieces at the step the other day, so I don't go out that door anymore. (But I have a big picture window in my dining room to watch from.)

Glad there is some headway in translating birdsong. Birds are very intelligent creatures, and I never thought they were just singing for the heck of it.

An EXCELLENT linksite for birdsongs on WAV, mp3 files etc. (plus any animal you can think of)
is this one called Junglewalk.

http://www.junglewalk.com/frames.asp

[R. Scott]

I have a tape of old WC Fields radio shows. Great listening.

[ErnBatavia]

Along this line, I've been alerted by birds two out of the three times I've seen rattlesnakes in my back yard.

Depending on the species around - sparrows, mockingbirds, cactus wrens - they all react pretty much the same. They flutter above the snake (like a hovering helicopter) and make a helluva lot of noise.

So far, I haven't seen one of my local roadrunners take one down, but that would be a hoot (pardon the pun).

[sweetliberty]

"Can you add me to your birdie list?"

Sure thing.

Seems you're not the only one with Barn Swallows nesting at the door.

[Hot Tabasco]

As a resident Michigander, my favorite bird is the chickadee and as a kid, they did eat out of my hand at my grandparents house.

There was a small movement a few years back to change our state bird from the robin to the chickadee but it obviously failed.

Robins are stupid, they poop everywhere and head south for the winter while the chickadees stay.....That pretty much says it all.

[Calpernia]

Click!

[Temple Owl]

Chickadees are usually welcome guests at our bird feeders, but I haven't seen any this year. We have cardinals, blue jays, wrens, grackles. catbirds, tit mouses and the whole gamut of sparrows, but where are our chickadees?

[P.O.E.]

Kids just got a parakeet. We're keeping him in a separate cage for now, want to see if the cockatoo takes to him or not.

[Ditter]

My yard is filled with tall trees, pines and water oaks mostly. I have many many varieties of birds that I can identify when they are on the feeder but I have no idea which one is making which call.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Well I have some very bad/sad news of my baby barn swallows. There were only 2 to start with. I don't know what happened to one of them (I can guess tho), I just noticed at the first of the week there was only 1. On Wed. I was in the kitchen and heard the adult barn swallows making alot of noise and went to see what was up. I don't know if the baby just fell out, or was trying to fly (it was awful small to be trying to fly), but however it was out of the nest, and my cat got it.

It was very upsetting, the mother and father were looking all over for it and calling so pitifully....

I don't know if it's the same pair but there are two more trying an old barn swallow nest that has been in another sport under my porch. Do you know if a pair would try again if they lost all their babies???

I've had them nest here before. In the past there were always more then 2 in the nest. I wish they wouldn't. The cat is always around. I don't feed birds there, other then the hummers, he's never gotten one of them, their too fast and smart.

Becky

[groanup]

Thanks for posting. Incredibly, I have had a robin outside my window doing a constant chirp ALL DAY. Turns out, one of my cats was lying on the deck rail ALL DAY. LOL. I never thought a robin could drive one crazy.

[iconoclast]

Chickadees are great little birds -- very tame, you can train them to take food from your hand.

My favorite chickadee story is of one in the middle of Lake St. Clair in a dense fog.

The little guy flew in the side opening of a cabin cruiser and sat on the dash till the boat reached the dock, whereupon he left the way he came in.

[sweetliberty]

Oh no! I hate that. I love cats, but sometimes they don't mix with the wild birds. The swallows might try again. Is the cat strictly an outdoor cat? Have you tried a bell....a loud one? I don't suppose that would be much help to a baby bird, but might alert the adults and avoid other mishaps.