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Workers at Aberystwyth University have reported that Great tits (Parus major) in 20 UK cities currently sing at a higher pitch than their more rural cousins (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/8079539.stm) . This is presumably an adaptation to facilitate the transmission of the threatening and seductive messages in the songs over the noise of traffic in urban locations. The oddity is that these birds now apparently have difficulty recognising the songs of birds from out of town. It could even drive speciation.
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Soprano Tits!
Workers at Aberystwyth University have reported that Great tits (Parus major) in 20 UK cities currently sing at a higher pitch than their more rural cousins (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/8079539.stm) . This is presumably an adaptation to facilitate the transmission of the threatening and seductive messages in the songs over the noise of traffic in urban locations. The oddity is that these birds now apparently have difficulty recognising the songs of birds from out of town. It could even drive speciation.
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