There have been studies in which it's been shown bird song in urban
environments have changed frequency for better sound propagation. But this
study shows that the mechanism here is not mate selection, but perhaps
communication with the chicks. In short, reproductive success of birds in
the noisy environment was lower, and chicks that survived tended to be
lighter. Hmm, how can we get this to happen on this side of the Pond?!?!?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18784607
This is also interesting, from the same article:
In 2007, another study by researchers at the University of Sheffield
published in Biology Letters
<http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/4/368.abstract> found
that urban-based robins were choosing to sing and communicate at night in
order to avoid noise during the day.
For an abstract, see
http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/4/368.abstract
Kurt Schwarz
HowCo
goawaybird at verizon dot net
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