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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
A group of scientists from the United States and France learned something new about birds. The data from their report have emerged.
The report states that feathered creatures worldwide use the same set of eight basic sound types for their songs. In the course of the experiment, the specialists evaluated 117 thousand recordings of songs of 3160 sparrow-like birds. They identified recurring elements that can be compared to syllables of human speech. It is said that three types relate to trills — slow, rapid, and ultra-rapid — and another three to whistles — uniform, slowly varying in pitch and quickly modulated. Two types the researchers called chaotic sounds and harmonious combinations of several notes. It is noted: “Most birds combine several such elements at once. On average one species uses 4,6 type of sounds, and about 65% of songs consist of at least two elements. At the same time, many birds have a favorite “syllable”: one type of sound can occur in more than 80% of their songs.”
Additionally, it turned out that the choice of sounds depends on the environment. In dense tropical forests, simple whistles and slow trills are most common — they travel better over distance when sound passes through trees and moist air. It adds that in Europe and other temperate-climate regions, conversely, faster and more complex sounds prevail. It is clarified that songs are influenced both by environmental conditions and by lifestyle. Heavier birds tend to use simple sounds, while smaller ones are capable of producing fast and complex whistles. Social behavior also proved to be an important factor: birds living in groups more often use similar sound elements. It is concluded that it is not yet clear whether the birds themselves perceive these eight sound types as the computer classifies them. Earlier scientists said that birds consume alcohol en masse.
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Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Вчені дізналися про птахів щось дуже несподіване". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Fraza.
