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Do you like to sing? Some people like to sing in front of an audience, while others limit their musical vocalization to the car or shower. What about animals? Do they like music? Can they compose their own music?
Most people know that birds can sing. You can hear birds singing while walking around the area or keeping certain species as pets. But did you know that many other species of animals also sing? Check out our list below for some unexpected musicians from mammals, amphibians, aquatic and invertebrates.
What is singing? Some researchers claim that only birds and people sing. But by definition, a song is made up of “musical voice modulations.” According to this definition, many other animals also use their voices to sing.
What about animals that use something other than their vocal cords? For example, do insects, which use their bodies as musical instruments, really sing? Songs performed by the deaf in sign language are described as singing with the hands. And you might think that these animals are producing “love songs” – perhaps the most common theme in human music. So it’s not so difficult with singing insects.
Why do animals make music? Animal singers use their songs to communicate. They can share food arrangements, find each other, or attract a couple. They can sing to scare off an opponent or alert others to danger. And like humans, some animals, including birds and whales, sometimes seem to sing for joy.
1. Birds
Birds are one of the singing animals. Just open a window or go outside. Can you hear the birdsong? Many bird species use complex songs to attract mates, defend their territory, or warn of danger. Each species of bird has its own special call. You can learn to recognize birds in your backyard by the songs they sing. For example, the titmouse gets its name from the song “chick a dee dee dee”.
Birds use their songs in the same way we talk. Many species of birds can live in one place, but the female can determine the location of the male of her species by song. These love songs represent learned behavior – a male raised by a different bird species sings a song from his adoptive parents. Some birds have songs that vary to indicate different hazards – from hawks, cats, or snakes, for example. These warnings can be understood and even repeated by birds of different species.
Are all the birds singing? Technically no. For example, the cedar waxwing does not emit a series of vocalizations similar to a song. Instead, it makes simple sounds known as “bells”.
Learn more about birds.
2. Whales
Whales are also extremely famous for their vocal skills. Whales often use their songs to attract a mate, but they can also use them to communicate over the vast distances of the open ocean.
Researchers recently discovered that new “hit songs” are becoming popular in the humpback whale community, much like the human pop charts. These songs often come from whale populations off the coast of Australia. Throughout the year, favorite new songs could be heard in whale populations around the world. By that time, the Australian whales were already busy creating even more new tunes.
Singing is not limited to baleen whales; Toothed whales also sing. Beluga whales were nicknamed “sea canaries” because of the abundance of their bird calls. Killer whale flocks have very complex songs, and each group can be identified by its “dialect”.
Learn more about whales.
3. Tree frogs
In many parts of the world, tree frogs can be heard singing on warm summer nights. Tree frogs sing to announce their territory and attract females. Their songs are known to differ depending on the weather.
The Pacific tree frog or Pacific choir frog exhibits a unique musical style. A group of these frogs is called a chorus for a reason. The dominant male of the area leads the choir in his song, and the subordinate males respond to his leadership.
Learn more about tree frogs.
4. Katydids
Catidids, or long-horned grasshoppers, are large insects found in tropical and temperate regions around the world. Male catidids sing to attract a mate with a quick movement of their front wings. To the human ear, some of katydid’s songs sound like “Katy did, but she didn’t!” From here the katidid got its name.
Did you know? Katidids, like the crickets discussed below, do not have ears like ours. They hear sounds using open lap space!
5. Antelope squirrels
Antelope squirrel is a solitary North American ground squirrel. When threatened, he stomps his feet and issues a warning song. Young squirrels have been observed to practice their songs while feeding.
6. Crickets
Crickets are famous all over the world for their songs. Field crickets of the genus Gryllus terrestrial. Male field crickets chirp or sing while rubbing their wings. One wing has a “file” or sharp ridge, and the other has a “scraper”, a series of folds. The wings of the field cricket are designed for sound reproduction and amplification. This allows the cricket to use its song to attract a partner. There are several songs in the cricket playlists. The Call Song encourages the female to travel a distance. When she approaches, the male sings a softer “caring song”. If a competing male cricket gets too close, the first male sings a “competition song” to deflect it.
Tree crickets of genera Neoxabea and Oecanthus also use songs to court mates. These slender crickets crawl through tall grass, trees, or other vegetation. They raise their spade-shaped front wings to sing. This serves a dual purpose, as the raised wings reveal a gland on the male’s back from which the female feeds.
Fun Fact: The chirping or singing speed of crickets is temperature dependent. You can estimate the temperature in Fahrenheit by counting the number of beeps in 15 seconds and adding 37.
7. Cicadas
Cicadas also use songs to attract a partner. The songs of the cicadas are very loud, especially when they hatch in the millions. Some sing during the day and others sing at night.
Cicadas sing on drums. They have a set of two real percussion organs located in the abdominal cavity. You can make a large muscle vibrate inside a cavity. A cover-like structure adjusts the volume of the song.
Learn more about cicadas.
8. Mexican bats with a loose tail.
Males of at least one species of bats, the free-tailed Mexican bat, use song to attract a mate. Males can change their songs to keep their listeners interested, and they also use songs to warn male rivals. Interestingly, researchers listened to hundreds of hours of tapes to make this discovery!
Learn more about Mexican free-tailed bats.
9. Mice
Male mice sing at an ultrasonic level – at a height too high for the human ear. However, female mice can hear this, and males use their songs to attract a mate. It has been observed that some mice sing better than others – some songs attract many females, while others do not.
Learn more about mice.
10. Toad
The singing animal is a toad fish. The toadfish has been described as “unusually vocal” animals. After all, you’ve probably never heard your goldfish speak or sing! But male toads have a song that can be heard even outside the water.
Toad uses his song to attract a helper. The sound has been described as “hum or hum,” and the researchers found that each toad has its own unique song!
Learn more about the toad.
List of singing animals
Next: 10 animals with opposite thumbs – and why it’s so rare
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