www.alphadictionary.com

I saw this a long time ago on some PBS science show (Nova?).

I thought that some of you would be interested:

Marler's work on the development of bird song

Apo

Not surprising, as it's quite old, but the link is dead, so don't bother.

I'm into birds and their speech, so I looked it up (original article, presumably, is now here)

It was a source of fascination long ago to learn that a bird in New England will carry its song with a different regional dialect than the same bird in the Carolinas, or one in the deep South.

This abstractof the same article contains several interesting side articles that reference it.

From the same search, for the interested:
This book looks wonderful, if pricey.

More:

From birdsong to speech: a plea for comparative approaches in Bird Song Learning

The Role of Social Interaction in Bird Song Learning

And a personal favorite:
Development and Use of Two Song Forms by the Eastern Phoebe

(possibly the most beauteous sound in nature: "FEE-be! FEE-be!")

Spring's a-comin', good time to bone up on birdbrain linguistics.

Now feeding: Carolina chickadees, titmice, nuthatches and the occasional red-cockaded woodpecker

I've printed these articles to peruse later. I don't know
a lot about 'language' in bird song. All I do know is that
the more "dee's" in a chicadee 'whistle' means the more
serious the danger. When my dog is out around the
birdfeeders, the Chicadees go nuts. I am certain there
is other 'language' as well.

I am in a 'winter count' for birds in our area for
Cornell University. I find it fascinating.

Very cool -- Cornell has one of the best online libraries of bird sounds. They've done their homework over the years

Very cool -- Cornell has one of the best online libraries of bird sounds. They've done their homework over the years

Ach, as usual, Sluggo beat me to it...great link.

This "bird song" site from Cornell is one of the first
I have found on my own that I did not have to
bookmark from you guys. Climbing the ladder
on my own: up to rung one.

I count the birds, and in my area of the frozen wastes
had not a clue so many birds 'overwintered' here
until I began with Cornell. Thought most were just
various forms of sparrows, but was I proven wrong!
It is a lot of fun. See a red tail hawk in one of my
trees right now.

During the summer I was up late in my kitchen surfing YouTube tangents and came across some British kids doing their version of a comedy sketch, dropping into laughter and so on... Then out of nowhere a barred owl alighted (alit?) right outside my window and called inside, apparently hearing the kids' laughter as a potential mate or rival.

What a totally magnificent bird.
(When playing it, the second time, my dog began looking
all over the house for "when came that sound".)
Thanks for posting it.