To be Heard over Humans, Sparrows Raising Their Voices

White crowned sparrow. (Credit: © Brenton W Cooper / Fotolia)If you have a little brother or sister, you already know this.

 Sometimes you have to raise your voice to be heard.

That goes whether you’re a big brother or sister, or a bird trying to be heard over the noise made by humans.

Scientists studying sparrows in the area of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco have discovered that sparrows are having a hard time being heard over human noise.

According to these scientists, the low end of a sparrow’s song is difficult to hear amid all the car horns, air conditioners, etc. It’s important for species of bird to be heard by others of its kind in order to attract mates, warn away rivals, and so on.

So the sparrows are changing their tune.

To learn more, read this Science daily article.