21. Playing songs at slower speeds, lower frequencies.
3. Why and How Birds Sing
What birds hear
From page 43 in the book.
Playing songs at slower speeds, lower frequencies. Listening to birdsong slowed four times, down to one-quarter speed, probably brings us as close as we can come to appreciating the intricacies of birdsong as the birds themselves hear it. This book's website offers hundreds of sounds that you can download and import into the software program Raven Lite (see p. 178), where you can slow the songs to whatever speed you wish as you watch the sonagrams dance across your computer monitor. I suggest beginning at one-quarter speed (0.25), and then go from there. Perhaps start with the thrushes, such as the Townsend'ssolitaire, eastern bluebird, varied thrush, veery, Swainson's thrush, wood thrush, and hermit thrush. You will soon realize all the more why they are considered such special songsters. As you listen and watch the sonagrams, can you find clear examples of two strikingly different sounds being sung simultaneously, from the two voice boxes?