Bird Song: Biological Themes and Variations
Abstract
Bird song is one of the most remarkable and impressive sounds in the natural world, and has inspired not only students of natural history, but also great writers, poets and composers. Extensively updated from the first edition, the main thrust of this book is to suggest that the two main functions of song are attracting a mate and defending territory. It shows how this evolutionary pressure has led to the amazing variety and complexity we see in the songs of different species throughout the world. Writing primarily for students and researchers in animal behavior, the authors review over 1000 scientific papers and reveal how scientists are beginning to unravel and understand how and why birds communicate with the elaborate vocalizations we call song. Highly illustrated throughout and written in straightforward language, Bird Song also holds appeal for amateur ornithologists with some knowledge of biology.
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In other taxa, including birds and fish, acoustic signals are known to develop and change with age.
“In other taxa, including birds and fish, acoustic signals are known to develop and change with age (Catchpole and Slater 2008; Ladich 2015).”
From Roars, Rumbles, and Resonance: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Crocodylian Acoustic Signals (2026) · cites this paper as Catchpole and Slater 2008
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Global birdsong embeddings enable superior transfer learning for bioacoustic classification
Ghani, B., Denton, T., Kahl, S., & Klinck, H. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-49989-z · Cited by 167 · see citing works
Bioacoustic monitoring of animal vocal behavior for conservation
Teixeira, D., Maron, M., & van Rensburg, B. J. (2019) · Conservation Science and Practice · doi:10.1111/csp2.72 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Ecological drivers of song evolution in birds: Disentangling the effects of habitat and morphology
Derryberry, E. P., Seddon, N., Derryberry, G. E., Claramunt, S., Seeholzer, G. F., Brumfield, R. T., & Tobias, J. A. (2018) · Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1002/ece3.3760 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Brumm, H., Zollinger, S. A., & Slater, P. J. B. (2009) · Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology · doi:10.1007/s00265-009-0749-y · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Bird Dawn Chorus Revisited
Gil, D., & Llusia, D. (2020) · Animal Signals and Communication · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-39200-0_3 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Comparative bioacoustics: a roadmap for quantifying and comparing animal sounds across diverse taxa
Odom, K. J., Araya‐Salas, M., Morano, J. L., Ligon, R. A., Leighton, G. M., Taff, C. C., Dalziell, A. H., Billings, A. C., Germain, R. R., Pardo, M., et al. (2021) · Biological Reviews · doi:10.1111/brv.12695 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Singer, D., Kamp, J., Hondong, H., Schuldt, A., & Hagge, J. (2026) · Journal of Ornithology · doi:10.1007/s10336-025-02307-y · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Cultural Evolution and Long-Term Song Stability in a Dialect Population of Brown-Headed Cowbirds
O'Loghlen, A. L., Ellis, V., Zaratzian, D. R., Merrill, L., & Rothstein, S. I. (2011) · The Condor · doi:10.1525/cond.2011.100103 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Martin, K., Adam, O., Obin, N., & Dufour, V. (2022) · doi:10.1101/2022.02.19.481011 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Roars, Rumbles, and Resonance: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Crocodylian Acoustic Signals
Flores, S. A., Dwyer, R. G., Parsons, S., & Potvin, D. A. (2026) · Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1002/ece3.72494
- Authors
- Catchpole, C. K., & Slater, P. J. B.
- Affiliations
- Royal Holloway University of London (GB)
- University of St Andrews (GB)
- ORCID
- Slater, P. J. B.
- Venue
- Cambridge University Press eBooks
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Published
- 2008-05-22
- OpenAlex
- W4247842280
- Cited by
- 1,193
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 57 · 2025: 88 · 2024: 56 · 2023: 80 · 2022: 81 · 2021: 106 · 2020: 94 · 2019: 85 · 2018: 63 · 2017: 70 · 2016: 67 · 2015: 54 · 2014: 49 · 2013: 81 · 2012: 50
- FWCI
- 6.18
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology › Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Avian ecology and behavior
- Keywords
- bird song, bird vocalizations, mate attraction, territorial defense, song evolution, animal communication, bird behavior
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