I lived at Wangi Wangi on Lake Macquarie, the butcher birds there had the most musical calls, sometimes a dozen notes in each phrase. The style very clear and plain with very few warbles and trills, very much like the flute music. They sang every morning, all the most enchanting music! I also listened to them a few kays away at Wyongah, where the tunes were simpler, then moved to Canberra where they are less common and their songs are very simple, only 3 or 4 notes. Also have a family of magpies resident here, the senior male has a wonderful signature tune like the butcher birds up north but with the extra sibilance (?) or complexity that the magpies prefer. His offspring have a different tune. There are plenty of instances of magpies learning human music, there is a good one of a bird singing the national anthem!
Listening to 1:27 of a Butcherbird song is rather brief to be drawing your conclusions. Perhaps if you had all of the studies information and evidence you might come to their conclusions too...
The video has been published by NJIT who were one of the members of the team of universities doing the commenting on the research. So I think it is safe to assume they have heard more than 1:27 of the songs of the pied butcher bird and they have indeed had access to all the studies and evidence.
I don't hear the varied musical repertoire. It sounds like the bird is making, or trying to make, the same call over and over. How in the world does this provide "evidence that musical ability in birds may be a precursor to the evolution of musical ability in humans"? Seems a great stretch.
Indeed, this is just one short sample. But if you listen closely, there is significant variation. Mostly, the bird is doing an up phrase, followed by a rest, followed by a down phrase, then repeat. Other times, there's up, middle, down, rest. Again, if you listen closely and repeatedly, you will hear variation in almost every element--except the up phrase, which is sung identically each time with an occasional quick three-note embellishment on either the front or the end. The bird is purposefully NOT trying to repeat the elements exactly. How easy it would be for it to do that. I would say the ability to produce such subtle variation, yet maintain a cohesive song is musicianship in a sense as it requires musical imagination. Even with the variation, there is enough similarity for all ups, all middles, and all down phrases that you detect patterns that make it a cohesive song. Note also that the rests are very close to being the same length. I'd say the bird is purposefully being musical to give enough variety to his song to make it interesting for a potential mate without straying too far away from the structure of this particular song. If you care to, please listen again for the patterns and variation that I recognize. Naturally, the more you listen,the more of the song structure and variation you'll detect. I listened about 10 times before writing this. One or two listens will not be enough for these things to become clear.
I have listened to the most amazing songs by the butcher birds regularly. Each one has his own repertoire, the larger pied birds have a small repertoire of a few songs that they repeat. There is a smaller variety on Lake Macquarie also that has more complex tunes, but they also have a bigger repertoire, I had one who I listened to every day. He had about ten different phrases that he would string together in different orders from the highest point he could find to sit. His songs had more trills and buzzes. I am not sure what species he was specifically, but they are clearly related to the pied ones and are very common around Bonnells Bay on Lake Macquarie.
Fascinating look at the relationship between human and avian musical ability.
I lived at Wangi Wangi on Lake Macquarie, the butcher birds there had the most musical calls, sometimes a dozen notes in each phrase. The style very clear and plain with very few warbles and trills, very much like the flute music. They sang every morning, all the most enchanting music! I also listened to them a few kays away at Wyongah, where the tunes were simpler, then moved to Canberra where they are less common and their songs are very simple, only 3 or 4 notes.
Also have a family of magpies resident here, the senior male has a wonderful signature tune like the butcher birds up north but with the extra sibilance (?) or complexity that the magpies prefer. His offspring have a different tune.
There are plenty of instances of magpies learning human music, there is a good one of a bird singing the national anthem!
"Food, Glorious Food!"
Sometimes??? They're the creators of music, from the beginning.
I've often thought that human music originally came from listening to birds
Spotted Reptile I suppose I sounded like I had authority on the notion, but one would technically assume it is the case.
Birds ARE musicians
Sounds like reverb was added. Or this bird lives in a church
It was recorded in a gorge (see first subtext description)
Listening to 1:27 of a Butcherbird song is rather brief to be drawing your conclusions.
Perhaps if you had all of the studies information and evidence you might come to their conclusions too...
The video has been published by NJIT who were one of the members of the team of universities doing the commenting on the research. So I think it is safe to assume they have heard more than 1:27 of the songs of the pied butcher bird and they have indeed had access to all the studies and evidence.
I don't hear the varied musical repertoire. It sounds like the bird is making, or trying to make, the same call over and over. How in the world does this provide "evidence that musical ability in birds may be a precursor to the evolution of musical ability in humans"? Seems a great stretch.
Indeed, this is just one short sample. But if you listen closely, there is significant variation. Mostly, the bird is doing an up phrase, followed by a rest, followed by a down phrase, then repeat. Other times, there's up, middle, down, rest. Again, if you listen closely and repeatedly, you will hear variation in almost every element--except the up phrase, which is sung identically each time with an occasional quick three-note embellishment on either the front or the end. The bird is purposefully NOT trying to repeat the elements exactly. How easy it would be for it to do that. I would say the ability to produce such subtle variation, yet maintain a cohesive song is musicianship in a sense as it requires musical imagination. Even with the variation, there is enough similarity for all ups, all middles, and all down phrases that you detect patterns that make it a cohesive song. Note also that the rests are very close to being the same length. I'd say the bird is purposefully being musical to give enough variety to his song to make it interesting for a potential mate without straying too far away from the structure of this particular song. If you care to, please listen again for the patterns and variation that I recognize. Naturally, the more you listen,the more of the song structure and variation you'll detect. I listened about 10 times before writing this. One or two listens will not be enough for these things to become clear.
I have listened to the most amazing songs by the butcher birds regularly. Each one has his own repertoire, the larger pied birds have a small repertoire of a few songs that they repeat.
There is a smaller variety on Lake Macquarie also that has more complex tunes, but they also have a bigger repertoire, I had one who I listened to every day. He had about ten different phrases that he would string together in different orders from the highest point he could find to sit. His songs had more trills and buzzes. I am not sure what species he was specifically, but they are clearly related to the pied ones and are very common around Bonnells Bay on Lake Macquarie.