Why birds sing more intensively in the morning?

Answer 1

Right now, between sunrise and mid-morning, wrens, robins, thrushes and blackbirds (to name but a few) are singing. In your local woodland, fresh water marsh or grassland, the passerines - or song birds - are living up to their name. But why, and what, are they singing?

In general, only the male songbird sings and is he communicating one of two messages - 'go away!' or 'come here!'.

Go away!

In order to attract a female to mate with him, a male bird has to obtain and defend a territory. This territory will help determine his breeding success by providing him, and his mate, with food. Males claim a territory by singing in it, which tells other males to stay away. They leave gaps in their song to listen to replies, so they can discover where any rivals are and focus their defensive efforts on strangers looking to take over the territory. Some species, such as great t i t s and chaffinches, have a large repertoire of choruses to convince other males that there are a number of birds in the area and that all the territory is spoken for.

Come here!

The second reason for the dawn chorus is to advertise for a mate. When doing this, males sing songs that are longer and more complex than the repetitive ones used for territorial defence. Singing is an honest indication to a female of the males quality and fitness because it is an energy intensive activity. If a male has the excess energy to sing a long, loud, complicated song after a night without food, he must be a good, strong forager and live in a productive territory. This is what the females want. A weak, hungry bird will not have the energy to sing such an impressive song.

Many birds amplify their song by singing on high, exposed perches, however this also makes them visible to predators. By avoiding these predators, males can further show females their strength.

During the dawn chorus, female birds listen to each song and visit each territory before deciding on a male to mate with. As they prefer males with the most complicated songs, the males constantly develop and re-develop them. European wrens for example, have songs that contain over 700 different notes per minute and can be heard 500m away.

Imitating another species' song will also increase repertoire and complexity and show the female that a male has survived enough breeding seasons to have heard these other songs. Some migratory birds even imitate international birds. Marsh warblers may mimic the sounds of 70 or so species, telling the females where they have spent the winter.

Successful males find mates earlier in the season and can often rear two broods during the summer as a result. This dramatically increases their reproductive success. The singing lessens as the birds get organised and often stops when all the females and the territories are spoken for.

Why sing at dawn?

Dawn is the best time to sing because the air is generally calmer and sound transmission is good. A dawn song is thought to be 20 times more effective than singing at midday and at dawn, birds can do little else. Light is poor and insect prey is not flying, so foraging for food is difficult. Also, female birds generally lay eggs in the morning, so a dawn mating is the best time for a male. Finally, if any birds have died overnight, the others will know where there is a vacant territory.

Why sing in the spring?

Breeding behaviour is stimulated by a change of brain chemicals within the males, notably by a rise in testosterone and a fall in melatonin. Melatonin is regulated by daylight and its levels decrease when the days get longer. This reaches a point which triggers breeding activity and the dawn chorus, or battle of the songs, begins.

Answer 2

To annoy me....
nah i'm joking birds sing for a number of reasons, one is to attract a mate. Others can do it out of distress if they need to warn other birds about it (or so i have been told i'm not sure if it is true though).
My great-grandma used to say it was to give us something lovely to listen to in the morning.

Answer 3

Because in the cool of the dawn most insects etc aren't active so it's pointless hunting so they sing to proclaim their territory and reaffirm links with other family members.

Answer 4

Its called the dawn chorus; and the reason behind the dawn chorus is to proclaim to everyone else in the bird world that

A: I made it through the night
&
B: I'm still here and this piece of ground is STILL mine so keep off it or else..

Answer 5

It's a contact call. It's too make sure everyone is still alive and well.

It's best call back once when your birds are doing that to tell them you are awake and around.

Answer 6

They are asleep at night, and in the morning they sing to 'mark' their territory...and to attract a mate.

Answer 7

Because they have been out catching the first worms or bites to eat and just singing their happiness.

Answer 8

Hey i had a pet perrakeet and it sang when it saw the sun. So it was my alarm clock on the weekends!!

Answer 9

cos they just woke up and are chattin to their mates and lookin fer the nearest bacon and egg buttie!

Answer 10

they sing because there referrring to everyone that its time to get up! sort of like roosters