Just heard a lot of small birds chirp peacefully now I’m wondering what’s behind all of it!
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Like 90% of bird calls you hear translate to, “Let’s Bang!”
The other 10% translate to, “Oh shit, something scary!”
There are exceptions, such as calls to identify themselves, or to ask another bird to identify, but those are a small portion of the bird language.
So next time you’re walking through a forest and you listen to all the bird songs just remember, you’re most likely listening to dirty talk.
Mating calls
Territorial calls
Hazard calls
I’m ok calls
Hey fuck you I saw that dropped bag of popcorn first motherfucker fite me calls
Related unrelated, I love how people think we’re going to have a clue what just happened after first contact with 👽
Lots of great answers. Lots of small birds also like the sound of their voice. Some of them just use the chirps as way of expressing contentment.
Some birds, especially those that live in groups use different calls to communicate.
Seagulls, for example, have a different ways of saying:
“Food here, kids! Come and eat!” often heard when they look after the offspring in first 3 months of their lives.
“Human approaching.” sounds a bit like “wakwakwak….wakwakwak…”
“OI WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?! GET OUT OF MY TURF OR I’LL PECK YE HEAD IN”
and also “I HAVE A NEST HERE ON YOUR ROOF. FUCK OFF OR I’LL DIVE-BOMB YOU, YOU INFERIOR TWO-LEGGED FLIGHTLESS BALD APE! I DON’T CARE YOU LIVED HERE FOR LAST 10 YEARS, I MADE A NEST HERE, THIS IS MY HOUSE NOW! *Specifically, the roof, but* THE VICINITY TOO. GIT!”
There are also mating calls, friendly calls for socializing, which sound a bit like “goh” every 2 seconds.
Then we have chicken hens, who have large variety of calls:
Slow clucking that starts with a longer one followed by 5 or 6 shorter ones usually means “Meh, I thought you brought something to eat. What a disappointment.”
Short, loud clucking usually mean they got spooked or distressed.
There is a distinctive call they make when they lay an egg, or are happy for other hen she’s laid an egg.
Quiet, short clucking usually mean they are content.
There is a call that says “I’ve seen this guy being a threat, exercise caution, keep your eyes on him”
There is also a call for immediate threat, something that says “WARNING. WARNING. WARNING. RUN!!”
A call for aerial threat “PREDATOR IN THE SKIES, HIDE! HIDE! HIDE!” which causes them all to hide in the grass and become very small, almost flat.
As for the rooster, they are often making their own distinct call, which has a variety of uses. It established dominance, assures the hens that he’s nearby in case of emergency (and you can bet he will come running like a lightning ready to take on anything and everything that threatens the hens, when a one makes a smallest distressed sound), tells other roosters that this is his turf and his hens, so they better keep their distance, it also gives him a confidence boost.
Rooster also makes low, muffled clucks when near humans, most often when he positions himself between a human they don’t know and the rest of the group. He will pretend to peck stuff in the ground, but in reality he is watching the stranger, ready to pounce if he as much as sees a sign of aggression towards the hens, making the muffled clucking sounds, like he was saying “You try anything funny and I’ll mess you up, give me a reason.”
Roosters also have a call that says “hey girls, found some nice food, come and have some!”. I remember one rooster doing that call while watching me (he didn’t know me too well then). When a hen came running to him expecting something nice to eat, she saw there is really nothing on the ground in front of the rooster and she gave him a solid peck to the head. I almost died laughing.
It’s essentially social networking. The chirps indicate how many are where, where danger lies, how many females are ready for egglaying, etc. It helps them spread out evenly so they’re not in a crowded place eating all the food.
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