Birds and music are beautifully intertwined. Birds are renowned for their melodic songs and stunning vocalizations. It makes you wonder if they can understand the more complex music than can be created by humans.
This can come down to the question of whether birds make sounds purely through instinct, or if they have a genuine appreciation for the quality of a song. The answer is a fascinating one.
The Science of Birdsong
To understand a bird’s relationship to music, it’s important to understand the science behind birdsong. Songs are made to either attract mates or mark their territory, while other vocalizations are made to communicate.
The songs they sing are specific to their species and are learned in a similar way to how we learn language. This auditory sophistication allows them to imitate sounds and fine-tune their vocalizations based on experience, with some birds capable of being extremely loud.
While the depth of understanding can be debated, both humans and birds have brain mechanisms for processing sound. Our auditory cortex is activated when listening to complex sound sequences that have no effect on other animals.
It shows that both humans and birds both have the ability to listen out for and pick out sequences of sounds. Whether birds can interpret and enjoy music other than what they hear from their own species can be debated.
Birds and Rhythm
One of the key aspects of music is rhythm. Humans can recognize and reproduce these rhythmic patterns and due to this, we can dance and synchronize movements. Incredibly, birds can also show these capabilities.
It has been proved that birds can dance to music and this was shown with a famous cockatoo called Snowball. This bird could synchronize their movements to the beat and even respond to changes in tempo to the music, showing a solid understanding of rhythm.
While Snowball’s movements may have been rewarded with treats, it was concluded his movements were not random but a genuine response to the music’s beat. It proved that at least some birds can respond to the structure of music.
Melody Recognition
It’s understood that birds don’t perceive melody in the same what that we do. Their auditory perception is different from ours. We rely on relative pitch for melody recognition whereas birds rely on absolute pitch and spectral shape.
It has been shown that variations in pitch or timbre can affect a bird’s ability to recognize melodic sequences. Birds process sounds more closely to how we perceive human speech recognition rather than out music recognition.
Emotional Responses to Music
For humans, one of the key aspects of music is its ability to evoke emotions. We can experience the whole range of emotions when listening to music, from elation all the way down to despair. But do birds share this same emotional connection?
Research is limited but it has been shown that some birds can emotionally respond to other birds. Their brain activity can show signs of pleasure when listening to birdsong. Whether they can have the same response to human-composed music is less clear.
While the evidence from studies is limited, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence out there. Parrots are one of the best examples of having an intricate relationship with sound and have been observed bobbing their heads to certain types of music.
Birds have even shown a preference for a certain type of music. However, it’s worth appreciating that this could be down to other reasons such as a response to their owner or curiosity. It hasn’t been proved that birds can have a genuine appreciation for music.
The Role of Vocal Mimicry
Many birds are incredible vocal mimics. They can replicate environmental sounds and musical notes. And have birds such as parrots have proved, they can even replicate human speech and can be caught to say certain phrases.
This ability showcases their incredible auditory learning skills. However, it doesn’t show an understanding of music. Instead, this ability has evolved as a way to attract mates, communicate, and adapt to social environments. Parrots learn to please their owners with sound, which is part of the reason they make great pets.
The act of mimicry shows that while birds may not perceive music as we do, they have their own exceptional abilities. While they may not be able to comprehend the context or content of music, they have an extraordinary capability of sound reproduction. In a similar way, while parrots can replicate speech, they don’t actually know what they are saying.
Birds in Human Music
While birds may not fully understand our music, they have long had a profound impact on it. Famous composers such as Olivier Messiaen and Ludwig van Beethoven have been inspired by birdsong and have even incorporated it into their work.
There has also been an indirect influence. Not only through bird song, but also the grace and elegance of birds have long since fascinated us. Songs such as “Blackbird” by The Beatles, “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley are good examples of that.
It’s clear that there is a symbiotic relationship when it comes to birds, humans, and music. Birds can inspire artists to create wonderful pieces of work, and at least some birds enjoy the rhythmic beat of that music.
What About Other Animals?
Other animals have a similar relationship with music. These are often animals that we associate with having high intelligence. Dolphins and elephants have shown an emotional response to music, often calming down or appearing curious because of it.
Monkeys have a more limited understanding but have responded to sounds that may resemble their natural calls. Cats and dogs can also have a response to music, and studies have even shown cows and chickens can have a greater yield when listening to soothing sounds.
These animals don’t understand music in the same way we do, but it shows that birds aren’t the only animals that have shown a basic recognition of rhythm. As always, there can be more factors at play, but music can clearly connect with more than just humans.
Do Birds Truly Understand Music?
You’d have to say the answer to this is no. They have sophisticated auditory perception but can’t be influenced by music the way we can. Their reactions to it will be driven by either instinct, learned behavior, or environmental factors.
For example, a bird, cat, or dog, for example, may react to music in a certain way as they know it will elicit a response from their owner. But as we’ve seen, birds at least have shown they have a basic understanding of rhythm.
