[REALAUDIO files]
Skylark song under the microscope
An excerpt of c.7 seconds from the middle of the skylark song in the listening rooms.
[Click on the sonagram to hear the section in its original form - real time.]
Click here to hear the extract at around a third of real-time speed.
Click here to hear the extract at around a sixth of the speed.
Click here to hear the extract at around a twelvth of the speed (long).
Click here to hear a martian skylark (uncorrelated time and pitch manipulation).
In slowing down this extract of song the pitch of the notes is lowered proportionately in the first 3 examples. Notice the precision in timing and pitching even at the slowest speed.
It's thought that the hearing of birds has a finer degree of temporal resolution than humans; this involves the ability to distinguish sounds uttered at short intervals as separate. W.H.Thorpe refers to Pumphrey's suggestion that a small bird does about 10 times better than humans in this respect. Thus it's also often suggested that such slowed down recordings give us some impression of the way songbirds hear their songs - though there's no real way knowing.
Pumphrey,R.J. (1961) Hearing in birds. In Marshall, A.J. (1960-61) Biology and Comparative Anatomy of Birds. London.
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