Songsters In The Sky

Look up if you hear music overhead!  Birds such as sandpipers  and larks sing on the wing— their high-flying concerts are sure to impress.

- Keen And Kimberly Kaufman

BIRDSONGS may simply be pretty outdoor melodies to humans, but for birds, there are practical uses behind the music. Male birds mainly sing to announce their claim to a territory and to attract a mate. They need to be heard, so they often sit up on a prominent, high perch to deliver their serenades. For example, a male cardinal may take to the top of a tall tree to sing his song, and a male song sparrow may fly up to the tallest nearby bush to sing after hunting for food on the ground.

But if there aren’t any towering shrubs or trees nearby, there’s always the highest perch of all: the sky. Many birds that live in wide-open country make that choice, pouring out their songs while fluttering through the heavens above their patch of territory on the ground.