Great Tit Research

(The Netherlands) Researchers at Leiden University have found that individual bird species sing different songs depending on where they call home. Birds in the city sing at a faster pace and at a higher frequency than country birds.

Led by Dr. Hans Slabbekoorn, the research team focused its studies on the great tit (Parus major) in ten large European cities including Paris, London, Prague, Brussels and Rotterdam. The results were then compared with songs of great tits in the country and forests. Great tits in the city sang shriller, faster and shorter songs than the country great tits which allowed them to compete with constant city noises.

Great tits in the city were also found to sing "rare and odd song types" although it's not known why. Great tits are native throughout Europe and not found in the Americas although a distant relative of the country great tit, unofficially designated Dollyus partonus, has reportedly been seen in the southeast U.S.

The research findings will be published this month in the journal Current Biology.