What’s the Difference?
So what is the difference between a bird call and a bird song? They are both ways for birds to communicate. Humans, however, have put bird vocalizations into two main groups because birds use calls and songs on different occasions and for different purposes.
Calls are used to share a bird’s location with others in their species or to warn them of suspected danger. Calls are usually short in duration and are made up of just a few notes. Both male and female birds use calls. Birds’ calls are frequently heard throughout the year. This is not the case with songs. Calls are sometimes used to notify other birds in their flock, or family group, that a newly discovered food source is nearby. Young birds use begging calls to tell their parents that they wish to be fed.
Image by Daniel Lee Brown
Songs are used when birds are claiming or protecting their territory or to attract a mate. Songs are also used for family bonding. They are frequently heard in the spring months and are more complex and musical than calls are. It was previously thought that male songbirds did most of the singing; but we now realize that many females also sing. The female Northern Cardinal is a good example of this and is extremely vocal. Birds that sing songs are usually inhabitants of dense areas or areas of low visibility, such as in forests, jungles, dense scrubland, or areas with tall grass. Birds that inhabit open areas, such as lakes, don’t have as much need for songs because they are more easily seen. Some species of birds have many different songs and some species only have one song. Odd as it may seem, there are songbirds that seldom sing or do not sing songs at all. Jays almost never sing and Cedar Waxwings do not sing at all.
Image by Mary Forrestal
Image by Larry Hickey
Starlings and Mockingbirds imitate songs of other songbirds and may imitate other sounds as well.
Image by Daniel Lee Brown
Image by Daniel Lee Brown
There are some birds that do not have either calls or songs. These include storks, pelicans, and some species of vultures. However, most birds do have calls and many have both calls and songs.
Birds do not have a good sense of smell and must depend on vision and hearing for their survival. Therefore, their calls and songs are extremely important for communication out in the wild. There are other kinds of sounds that some birds make that aid in communication. Woodpeckers peck at or “drum” on trees. Here is the drumming of a Nuttell’s Woodpecker.
Image by Larry Hickey
Other birds make sounds with their wings or tails that help them communicate with one another. Here is the sound the male Anna’s Hummingbird makes with its tail feathers during an aerial dive display.
Image by Mary Forrestal
Want to learn more about Bird Songs? Check out these great resources:
The recordings of bird songs and calls used in this article were originally shared on xeno-canto.
This video from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has this interactive page of birds and their songs.
This article from National Audubon has some fantastic owl sounds.