GREAT TITS IN THE CITY; GREAT TITS IN THE COUNTRY

I never imagined this in my wildest dreams, well, honestly, maybe  I have dreamed this in a wild dream or two!! But imagine, being able to listen to Great Tits sing!!??  Can you imagine that?  They can sing!!!!  You must be quiet.  You must concentrate. You must go where the Great Tits go.  You must think like the Great Tits think.  You must become one with the Great Tits. If you can do all those things, and listen like you have never listened before, you too might hear, the song of the Great Tits. . .

CITY TITS SHUN COUNTRY TITS CLAIM SCIENTISTS. 

by Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent, The Telegraph, Telegraph.co.uk

"Rural and City birds fail to warm to each other, just like humans, because they are not attracted to each others songs."

Male Great Tits in cities respond more strongly to songs of fellow city dwellers than to their country cousins – and the feeling is mutual.

A survey of the common garden bird across the UK has shown that the average minimum pitch of their songs is higher in noisy urban areas than in quieter, rural locations just a few miles away

And when the song from the city is played to those in the country they do not respond to it like they do to their own neighbours, claims the study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

 

 

Male birds sing songs to defend their territory and to attract a mate. In urban environments the birds have adopted a higher pitch song in order to be heard over the din of the city.

 

 

 

 

But if they move into the country, they found that their song is not so effective.Dr Rupert Marshall, of Aberystwyth University, Wales, who lead the project, and his team recorded bird song in 20 different cities in Britain. They then recorded birdsong just outside each conurbation – around two miles away.

 

                                                                             

You have your Great Tits, and then you have your Bouncing Tits, same bird, different traits. . .

 

When songs from the country were played in the city and visa versa using a speaker, it was discovered that other male birds in the close vicinity did not respond to it by singing back or flying towards the speaker.

Dr Marshall said: "People speak louder and higher in noisy places like pubs and bars but still recognise their friends' voices once they go outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure which is happier, the Great Tits being held?  Or the Hands holding them?

 

 

 

 

"Great tits seem to learn the high notes from their neighbours but don't respond as strongly to lower rural tones even when it's quiet."

Dr Marshall's PhD student Emily Mockford suggests "the next step is to find out what the females make of these different songs – will they want to mate with a guy who sings too high or too low?"

 

 

 

And Next week we shall take a close up and personal look at Boobies: