The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think

by Jennifer Ackerman

“Migrants have a very different pattern of territoriality and pairing than in the tropics. Typically, the male will arrive on the breeding grounds singing his head off, and the females will fly in and listen, and they’ll plunk down on the chosen male’s territory. Then they’ll have a very short breeding season. They just go for it like crazy, and then they leave.” Resident birds, on the other hand, like those in the tropics, have to defend their territory all year long. If, over the years, a partner dies, the remaining bird has to be able to defend that territory and attract a new mate. “And there can be divorce, as well,” says Langmore. “Whichever bird is left has to be able to sing to defend its territory or attract a new mate. So it seems like it’s quite a recent thing that females have lost song in these migratory groups.”