Bird Song

[happy_face]

A friend and I stayed up all night the weekend chatting and we noticed when the sun rose the birds started chirping... as they do. We decided to go for a walk in the park and noticed to our amasement how loud the chirping was. It was asthough every single bird had just woken up and wanted to get their chirp in.

But we were wondering how come it only seems to be at sunrise the birds are so energetic. Although you do get some bird song during the day it's no where near as noisy as the mornings. Does anyone know?

[Clanad]

Ornithologists have a term for your valid observation; Dawn Chorus.  Birds appear to begin singing (actually, communicating) depending on the amount of natural light available. It's been noted that the chorus tends to be delayed on cloudy days as opposed to bright dawns.  Additionally, birds with larger eyes tend to sing earlier than others due to the ability to see better in limited light.  The birds voice emanates from a device in their throat called a syrinx.  The song patterns are most numerous in the spring since the migrating birds are establishing their territories and attracting mates.  It becomes somewhat more muted once the nestlings have hatched. Almost without exception, it's the males of the species doing the vocalizations...

[Aschenbach]

I live by a busy road opposite a park and the birds start singing before the traffic really starts so the noise is much more pronounced at this time. You can often hear the first bird to sing before it builds to the dawn chorus cresendo.

[happy_face]

Yes, but why is it they sing so loud in the morning and you don't hear them near enough as loud during the day. I appreciate that we humans make some noise during the day so it would sort of make the bird song seem less loud, but even when you're out in "no man's land" it's the same.

[pansycow]

I agree with the first two posters, I would add;

The birds are defending their territories.  The song is particularly loud in the springtime when they are nestbuilding and trying to attract a mate to a nest site.

[utsavsrinet123]

Birds chirp at night because of various purposes such as attracting mates, defending territory or it can be communicating with chicks. Here is the list of birds chirping at night,
https://midwaynature.com/birds-chirping-at-night/