Urban birds shift their songs to higher pitches to escape traffic noise

Evidence

In Europe, where natural quiet no longer exists, except possibly in some far northern regions of countries such as Finland and Norway, entire populations of birds are adapting their songs to be heard above the din of noise pollution. The New Scientist (December 2006) reported that in urban areas birdsongs were losing lower notes and shifting to higher pitches that were less masked by traffic noise. — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 941

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 941
• XREF: connects to: Ambient noise impairs birds’ territory defense and mate attraction — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 942; Noise pollution directly reduces birds’ reproductive success — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 942; Noise harms hearing-dependent wildlife more than visual species like peregrines — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 691 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Noise harms hearing-dependent wildlife more than visual species like peregrines #expands (0.70) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 691
• Prey animals avoid noisy areas because sound is their security surveillance #exemplifies (0.60) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 107
• Urbanization shortened the distance humans can hear and see #expands (0.55) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 150