Click it and Unblock the Notifications
No more chirping in urban clamour
{image-singing
birds980_30032008.jpg
news.oneindia.in}London,
Mar
30:
If
you
are
one
of
those
who
wait
for
a
cock's
crowing
to
leave
bed,
be
ready
to
hear
the
wake
up
call
in
the
middle
of
the
night.
Experts
have
warned
that
noise
pollution
was
forcing
urban
birds
to
change
their
crooning
time
from
dawn
and
sing
at
night
in
order
to
be
heard.
Researchers
claimed
that
urban
clamour
was
drowning
out
their
chirping.
It
led
to
some
birds
changing
the
way
they
communicated,
while
many
others
had
given
up
singing
at
their
traditional
times
altogether.
The
report
published
in
New
Scientist
magazine
found
that
robins
nesting
in
areas
that
were
noisy
during
the
day
were
more
likely
to
sing
at
night
than
those
in
quieter
regions.
The analysis suggested that the creatures altered the times at which they sang to be heard above the city din. Lead researcher Richard Fuller said subtle effects of urbanisation were forcing birds to adapt this behaviour. The birds might become more stressed if they were forced to spend the night singing rather than sleeping. The constant rumble of cars, trucks and factories is masking the sound of the dawn chorus which males use to attract mates. Birds also sang to warn of danger and mark out their territory. The noise pollution, however, drowns out noises made by approaching predators and blocks alarm calls, leaving birds open to danger, experts say.
Many believe that urban noise could eventually lead to the emergence of new species. As male birds use songs to attract mates, those that can sing above the urban din - or distinguish birdsong from the background noise of cars and factories - are more likely to breed successfully. Some scientists believe the European blackbird has already diverged into separate urban and rural subspecies with different body shapes and life histories. A study of the dawn chorus of nightingales found that birds in Berlin sang up to 14 decibels louder than their counterparts in the forest. The highest volume occurred on weekday mornings.
UNI
