Wednesday, May 1, 2019

A visit with Tellico Birders






Song sparrow - Wiki Media

A songful thank you to club president Claire Manzo for inviting me to speak at the April meeting of the Tellico Village Bird Club and to bluebird aficionado Chuck Cruickshank for serving as host. 

Our topic de jour was "Bird Vocalization as Language." We listened to various songs, calls, chip notes and fussy alarms as true forms of backyard bird communication. 

Being vocal is energy draining and reveals their location to possible predators. If we hear it, a Cooper's hawk hears it too. Every time a bird sings or calls, it is putting itself in harms way. So why do it? Because the need to keep in touch with its mate and with other birds nearby is too great to remain silent. 







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