ANOTHER SILENT SPRING? Where have the Song Birds Gone?

Our world is resilient, and tough, it has rebounded from disasters beyond our comprehension to understand.  It is ever changing, that with our short and self centered life spans we seldom notice. With all that, the world can only take so much until there will be drastic changes and reorder of the way things used to be, whether that be by a natural disaster, or a man made one. I pray our children's children know the sounds of songbirds, not just from recordings of what was.  --JohnOh--

 

 SONGBIRDS DYING OUT DUE TO CITY TRAFFIC NOISE

By Joanna Corrigan

Last Updated: 4:45PM BST 29/06/2008

 

Telegraph.com.uk  Science Section

 

 

Songbirds living in cities could die out thanks to the effects of having to compete with traffic noise and the general drone of daily life, according to scientists.

 

Experts believe birds such as robins nesting in built-up areas are damaging their health as they strain to make themselves heard above the din of the city every single day.

Some are resorting to singing at night instead, opening themselves up to attack and increasing stress because they also need to be awake in daylight to feed.

Birdsong is used to attract a mate, warn of danger and to mark out territory but songbirds in urban areas have to sing far more loudly to overcome all the noises of city life.

The strain makes their voices coarser, increasing their isolation from their rural counterparts and making them less attractive to females which then leads to in-breeding.

With smaller gene pools, they are more vulnerable to new diseases and environmental pressures, and could end up being completely isolated or wiped out in British cities.

Dr Sue Anne Zollinger, from St Andrew's University, said: "By trying to sing over the sound of the city, birds are risking vocal injury because they're using more pressure to sing loudly, while also singing at higher frequencies to try to counteract the low rumble of traffic noise.

 

"All this effort puts the same strain on a bird's vocal cords as when a human tries to shout to be heard in a noisy pub - except the birds are doing it all day, every day."

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds believes species the most at risk of genetic separation are starlings, song thrushes, nightingales, robins and marsh warblers because they are most adept at adapting their songs.

Spokesman Andre Farrar said: "Birds with richer and more complex songs do better in the mating game and are able to defend their territory more successfully.

"If birds start simplifying their songs so they can be heard against background noise, they might find themselves attacked by other birds who think they're sick. This could have serious implications for conservation."