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16 results

Bird Song
  • Biological Themes and Variations
  • 2nd edition
  • C. K. Catchpole, P. J. B. Slater
  • Published online:
    06 July 2010
    Print publication:
    22 May 2008
  • Bird song is one of the most remarkable and impressive sounds in the natural world, and has inspired not only students of natural history, but also great writers, poets and composers. Extensively updated from the first edition, the main thrust of this book is to suggest that the two main functions of song are attracting a mate and defending territory. It shows how this evolutionary pressure has led to the amazing variety and complexity we see in the songs of different species throughout the world. Writing primarily for students and researchers in animal behavior, the authors review over 1000 scientific papers and reveal how scientists are beginning to unravel and understand how and why birds communicate with the elaborate vocalizations we call song. Highly illustrated throughout and written in straightforward language, Bird Song also holds appeal for amateur ornithologists with some knowledge of biology.

  • Introduction

  • C. K. Catchpole, Royal Holloway, University of London, P. J. B. Slater, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • Book:
    Bird Song
    Published online:
    06 July 2010
    Print publication:
    22 May 2008, pp ix-xii

  • Summary

    Bird songs are among the most beautiful, complex sounds produced in the natural world and have inspired some of our greatest poets and composers. Whilst biologists are equally impressed, their curiosity is also aroused. How and why has such an elaborate form of communication developed among birds? Charles Darwin was one of many who struggled to attempt an answer, and the elaborate songs of male birds such as nightingales clearly influenced his thinking as he developed the theory of sexual selection. Since then, biologists from many different disciplines, ranging from molecular biology to ecology, have found bird song to be a fascinating and productive area for research. The scientific study of bird song has made important contributions to such areas as neurobiology, ethology and evolutionary biology. In doing so, it has generated a large and diverse literature, which can be frustrating to those attempting to enter or survey the field. At the moment, the choice is largely between wrestling with the original literature or tackling advanced, multi-author volumes. Although our book is aimed particularly at students of biology, we hope that our colleagues in different branches of biology and psychology will find it a useful introduction. We have also tried to make it accessible to the growing numbers of ornithologists and naturalists who increasingly want to know more about the animals they watch and study.