We’ve all noticed the spring symphony of morning bird sounds, but why and how do birds make sounds? Bird calls are short and simple, often signaling flight or danger, are made throughout the year, and ...

If you were old enough to buy CDs in the ’90s, you may remember listening stations at superstores that featured music by some of nature’s noisiest creatures: birds. These CDs blended classical music ...

If you’ve ever been out in the New Zealand wilderness, you might have heard a distinctive, low-frequency tone. It sounds less like an animal than the kick on an electronic drum machine. A look through ...

Merlin was on the job at Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park one recent day, helping birders identify bird songs. Not Merlin the storied magician, although what was happening could be ...

We become desensitized to the common sounds around us—car alarms, chattering squirrels, the mechanical functions of modern living kicking on and off throughout the day. If you had asked me a week ago ...

Birds are the master vocalists of the animal kingdom. They can make a remarkable variety of sounds. But why is a barred owl more of a baritone, while a cedar waxwing is a soprano? And what influences ...