Posted on 06/26/2005 9:16:41 AM PDT by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
WASHINGTON - The chirp of the chickadee is charming to humans. To other chickadees, it can convey a lot of vital information. When the little black-capped songbird whistles "chick-a-dee-dee" it can warn flock mates to watch out: A predator is near.
Christopher N. Templeton and colleagues recorded the chickadee songs, analyzed them by situation, studied the calls on acoustic instruments, and watched the birds react when the songs were played back.
The researchers' findings are reported in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
"These birds are passing on way more information than anyone ever dreamed possible, and only by carefully looking at these calls can we really appreciate how sophisticated these animals are," Templeton said in a telephone interview.
"They change a bunch of different features about the call, subtle acoustic features, the spacing between the notes, things we can't hear," he said.
One thing humans can hear, Templeton said, is the number of "dee" notes at the end of the call. "The more they add, the more dangerous the predator," he said.
The familiar "chick-a-dee" can indicate a stationary predator. Variations can convey how dangerous it is, whether it flies or is a snake or a mammal such as a ferret, and where it is, he said.
"We had no idea that any animal was able to distinguish between predators that seem similar," Templeton said. "It's life of death for them. It's just a fun bird-watching tool for us."
The call even differed slightly depending on whether the predator was a large great horned own or a pygmy owl.
Despite their large hooked beak and big talons, the large owls are not as much of a concern because they are slow and the chickadees can outmaneuver them.
The fast and maneuverable pygmy owl, however, specializes in small birds. When a pygmy owl perched nearby, Templeton recorded as many as 23 added "dee" notes to the chickadee call.
The "chick-a-dee" can also be a call to arms, bringing in the whole flock of birds to mob the sitting predator and drive it away.
Jeffrey R. Lucas, a biology professor at Purdue University, said the research adds to what had been known about the chickadee calls.
"There really does seem to be something magic about the number of "dee" notes," he said in a telephone interview. "It is an index of how intense the vocalization is."
A second chickadee call, a soft, high-pitched sound like "seet," means there is a predator such as a hawk, owl or falcon flying nearby, Templeton reported. It is sort of "duck and cover" warning, he said.
Lucas, who was not part of Templeton's group, characterized that warning as a "high Z" call and said it seems to mean "duck and just shut up and don't do anything."
Templeton, a doctoral student in biology at the University of Washington, did the research while at the University of Montana. He noted that previous studies of the call have indicated that it can also contain information about the location of food and about the flock itself.
Chickadees are small songbirds common across most of North America.
The research was supported by Marchie's Nursery, Caras Nursery, Swift Instruments and the Birdwatchers's Country Store.
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
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.
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.
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.
thanks.
i'll keep listening for the dee's.
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
I have a tape of old WC Fields radio shows. Great listening.
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).
Sure thing.
Seems you're not the only one with Barn Swallows nesting at the door.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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