The Songbirds of the Morning Fight to Keep Their Turf

Every morning there is a cacaphony outside our windows, as the avian wonderland that is South Deerfield begins making itself heard again. At 4:45, it will be a shrieking madhouse. I wondered about these songbirds and then found a lot to ponder.

It seems that the birds are singing to defend their turf. They are announcing that this is where they are, and it’s their territory.  The tiniest of birds make the most shrill and delicate songs. I listened to many songbirds where they posted clips. I found a very cool website that helps identify songbirds and other backyard avian critters, the ones in Massachusetts.

The motivations for the loud singing are usually that they are male birds, trying to attract mates.  They also are keeping their competition wary, threatening them with their trills that say, ‘don’t try to take away my turf.   Pictured is the bird with one of the nicest bird songs, the cardinal.