High-pitched bird species tolerate roadside noise better than low-pitched ones

Evidence

Rheindt (2003), investigating the effect of highways on birds, has found a decrease in richness and diversity of birds living close to a German motorway. He found a significant relationship between dominant frequency and the decline in abundance of species toward the motorway. Birds that produce a high-frequency pitch are less susceptible to noise pollution and express a greater abundance in the proximity of the roads. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 1383

Categorization

• XREF: Consistent with and extends ch25 masking work and the frequency-shift strategy; feeds the acoustic community-assembly viewpoint. — connects to: Forest birds favor pure tones around 2,200 Hz where attenuation is lowest — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 422; Traffic noise permanently raises song tonality in red-winged blackbirds — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1384; Urban birds shift their songs to higher pitches to escape traffic noise — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 941

Broader Connections

• Urban birds shift their songs to higher pitches to escape traffic noise #expands (0.92) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 941