Sing me a Song

Spring brings along the lilting tunes of the male cuckoos, singing their hearts out in the pursuit of a mate. Sometimes you hear the competing call of a rival, and a duet of sorts ensues. As each male gets aggressive the performance reaches a crescendo.

Bird calls are different from bird songs. While calls like the chirps, tweets, babbles etc., have short notes, songs are more elaborate. Calls are used for normal everyday activities like informing their location to the flock or communicating the presence of a predator in the vicinity. On the other hand, bird songs are used for mating and courtship. Mostly, bird songs are used by the male birds for attracting the female birds. It is said that the song quality indicates the health and fitness of the male. Another important use of a song is territorial defense.

Birds belonging to the sub-order Passeri of the order Passeriformes (passerines) are specialists in bird songs. These birds are called songbirds or Oscines (Latin 'oscen' meaning songbird). The vocal organs in these birds are developed to produce a variety of complex rhythmic sounds.  Some birds, like the 'birds of paradise' are the most accomplished of all. They have the most extraordinarily beautiful plumage, and their songs are accompanied by a dance that is an important mating ritual.

It is interesting to note that the cuckoo is not a songbird. Some birds that do not belong to the sub-order Passeri like the common cuckoo (order Cuculiformes) sing too, but their songs lack the variety of the songbirds. The repertoire of the Oscines is vast and complex.

On the other hand, crows belong to the family Corvidae that belongs to the order Passeriformes. And the Corvids(ravens) are oscines. That is, they are song birds. Who would have thought that the harsh caw-caws of the crow are actually songs?

Small minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus)

 Class:    Aves

Order:  Passeriformes

Family:  Campephagidae

Genus:  Pericrocotus