birdsong

birdsong. Song, call notes, and certain mechanical sounds constitute the language of birds. Song is produced in the syrinx, whose firm walls are derived from the rings of the trachea, and is modified by the larynx and tongue. The membranes of the syrinx are controlled by slender muscles; in the oscines, or song birds, there may be as many as eight pairs of these muscles, whereas other birds have four or fewer. The greater development permits intricate patternings of sound (rare outside the oscines) that express a wide range of reactions, from pleasure to distress. Recognizable by humans and other animals as well as by other birds, the various calls are classified as flight, feeding, nest, flock, aggressive, alarm, and territorial-defense calls. Song is usually confined to the male and is at its height during the breeding season. Experiments have shown that hormone secretion in the male is directly connected with his propensity to song as well as with his selecting a territory for courtship and breeding. Among the oscines are such superior singers as the southern mockingbird, the hermit and wood thrushes, the purple and house finches, the canyon wren, and the European skylark and nightingale. Natural mimicry is characteristic of the mimic thrushes, the jays and crows, and the starlings, while birds with imitative faculties developed in captivity are canaries, finches, parrots, ravens, crows, and mynas. There is evidence that songs are learned and that certain calls are inherited. Most birds have preferences regarding the place from which they sing, e.g., fence posts, treetops, thickets, the forest floor, or on the wing. Mechanical sounds include the drumming of the grouse, the tattooing of the woodpecker, and the clattering of the stork.

Certain vocalizations of birds, characteristic of males during the breeding season, for the attraction of a mate and for territorial defense. Birdsong also reinforces pair bonds, and some species have a flight song. Birdsongs are usually more complex and longer than birdcalls, which are used for communication within a species. Birdsong may be hereditary or learned; a newly hatched male chaffinch, for example, can sing a “subsong” but must learn to sing the true song by listening to and imitating adult males.

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Birdsong is a town in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 40 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Birdsong is located at (35.459101, -90.260597).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 40 people, 20 households, and 8 families residing in the town. The population density was 140.4/km² (365.4/mi²). There were 27 housing units at an average density of 94.8/km² (246.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 100.00% Black or African American.

There were 20 households out of which 10.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 15.0% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.0% were non-families. 60.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 30.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the town the population was spread out with 15.0% under the age of 18, 12.5% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 30.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 81.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $6,806, and the median income for a family was $7,083. Males had a median income of $18,750 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $9,363. There were 57.1% of families and 56.3% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 100.0% of those over 64.

References

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