![\"White-throated](\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/sensoryecology\/files\/2014\/05\/sparrow.jpg\")
<\/a>White-throated Sparrow<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"Spring](\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/sensoryecology\/files\/2014\/05\/spring-peeper-3-300x230.jpg\")
<\/a>Spring peeper<\/p><\/div>\n
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Both species’ songs are similar in time characteristics and frequency features.\u00a0 The small sparrow sings a series of whistles at a high pitched frequency, while the peeper repetitively peeps with a similar high pitched frequency (Lenske & La, 2014).\u00a0 Additionally, both species call from early evening to dawn, which can throw a wrench into the sparrow\u2019s critical mate-attraction and territory-protecting vocal tasks. But, rather than endure defeat by this competitive noise–which is out of the question for its fierce reproductive goals– the sparrow instead sings at a higher frequency when the spring peeper \u201cchoruses\u201d in their shared home.<\/p>\n
When two sounds have similar frequencies, their identical wavelengths collide and \u201cmask\u201d, or cancel out, each other.\u00a0 By increasing its singing frequency, the sparrow prevents this clashing and effectively raises its song above the noise to reach its target fellow sparrows.<\/p>\n
White-throated sparrows do not always use the frequency defense.\u00a0 Instead, they tailor their response relative to the characteristics of the conflicting sound at hand. When faced with loud winds, the sparrow sings longer songs, likely as a mode to combat the frequent, quick changes in acoustic intensity that a wind sound produces (Lenske & La, 2014).\u00a0 Conversely, during other bird species song or car noises, the sparrow momentarily ceases its singing (Lenske & La, 2014).\u00a0 Either way, the sparrow shows that any obstacle in the environment can be overcome with a little adjustment.<\/p>\n
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Lenske, Ariel K., and Van T. La. “White-throated Sparrows Alter Songs Differentially in\u00a0 Response to \u00a0Chorusing Anurans and Other Background Noise.” Behavioural Processes<\/i> 105 (2014): 28-35.<\/p>\n
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Any animal that relies heavily on vocal communication must adjust this behavior in the face of conflicting environmental sounds, such as wind, rain, cars, or even songs of other species.\u00a0 Like other animals, birds heavily rely on this communication … Continue reading