Birds of a feather

Posted By Diyana Ishak Monday, December 11, 2006 - 9:06 AM Share

bird Apparently humans are not the only ones who have different lifestyles in the city and country. Birds have had to adapt to urban lifestyle, too. According to the BBC,

Dutch researchers found that urban species of birds sing short, fast songs rather than the slower melodies of countryside birds. City birds also sing at a higher pitch and will try out different song types. [...]

The research focused on great tits in ten major European cities, including London, Paris, Amsterdam and Prague, and compared them to forest-dwellers.

The urbanites sing faster and louder in order to assert their territory and attract mates above the sound of city noise. Or as Science Now puts it,

A bird that sang like Barry White in the forest sounded more like Michael Jackson in the big city.

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