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Why Birds Sing: One Man's Quest to Solve an Everyday Mystery
The richness and variety of birdsong is both a scientific mystery and a source of wonder. David Rothenberg has a unique approach to this fascinating subject, combining the latest scientific research with a deep understanding of musical beauty and form. Can the standard explanations of territoriality or sexual selection account for so many species' astonishing inventiveness and devotion to singing? Whether playing the clarinet with the white-crested laughing thrush in Pittsburgh or jamming in the Australian winter breeding grounds of the Albert's lyrebird, Rothenberg touches the heart and soul of birdsong, offering an intimate look at the most lovely of natural phenomena.
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First published April 12, 2005
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751 people want to read
About the author
David Rothenberg
49 books23 followersDavid Rothenberg is a professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. His research investigates the musicality of animals and the role of nature in philosophy. He received his BA from Harvard College in 1984 and his PhD from Boston University in 1991.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
December 30, 2018
It's one of those age old questions, why do birds sing? There are many theories, to alert others to danger, to get a mate, to tell another male to sod off or just because they can. This book takes those questions and adds a load more, how do they learn to sing, why do some birds imitate others, what are the birds saying and what happens if I play my clarinet to them.
After playing his clarinet to the laughing thrush and seeing it respond in unexpected ways, David Rothenberg embarks on a journey of discovery to find out why it happened. What he finds is quite incredible, the amount of research done of bird song over the last 100+ years is mind boggling. In the early days of no recording each bird song expert had to go out and figure out which bird was singing which song and all their experiments were done by ear, a number of theories are today still considered correct. As technology advances scientists were able to delve deeper into these sounds and discover things like a number of birds have the same alert call for a hawk and a birds reaction to a recording of their own call depends on how close it is played back.
The strength of this book is the number of interesting facts available, for me the most interesting was the birds who imitate and why they do that. The weakness of the book is in assuming the reader is able to understand sheet music or the sonograms. Having a small section on how to read a sonogram would have added so much more to the reading experience, instead I was left confused trying to understand what he was getting at.
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2018...
After playing his clarinet to the laughing thrush and seeing it respond in unexpected ways, David Rothenberg embarks on a journey of discovery to find out why it happened. What he finds is quite incredible, the amount of research done of bird song over the last 100+ years is mind boggling. In the early days of no recording each bird song expert had to go out and figure out which bird was singing which song and all their experiments were done by ear, a number of theories are today still considered correct. As technology advances scientists were able to delve deeper into these sounds and discover things like a number of birds have the same alert call for a hawk and a birds reaction to a recording of their own call depends on how close it is played back.
The strength of this book is the number of interesting facts available, for me the most interesting was the birds who imitate and why they do that. The weakness of the book is in assuming the reader is able to understand sheet music or the sonograms. Having a small section on how to read a sonogram would have added so much more to the reading experience, instead I was left confused trying to understand what he was getting at.
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2018...
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February 3, 2019DNF...much more of a music based look than a science based one. Interesting, but just not what I was looking for.
August 28, 2018
Apart from all of the things I've learned about birds and bird songs, this book also helped me to gain a much healthier approach to the concept of nature in general. I still want to know more about nature, and my desire to understand didn't disappear all of a sudden, for sure. But now I know that conceiving mystery of nature as a problem waiting to be solved damages our relationship with it and leads us to the point where we lose our sense of aesthetic (if that's the right word) and start focusing on 'unimportant' details. Next time when I hear a bird singing, I will try to just enjoy listening to it without feeling uncomfortable because of not knowing it's species or the meaning of 'lyrics'. In fact, those conclusions I came up with aren't directly represented in the book. The title speaks for itself anyway.
Another thing I found myself questioning was the natural sciences' researching methods. I addressed the problems of experimenting on animals from a legal perspective before, only academically. This book also got me thinking about the nature-related information I am thrilled at are mostly reached with ethically questionable methods. Should I feel guilty for getting excited about what I learned about the genomic evolution of birds? I don't want to be too dramatic about it, but now I know that little canary's brain was removed while she was singing her heart out. I will definitely be thinking about it and try to handle the situation from different perspectives, though there's nothing I can change only with my personal effort nor those studies aren't made just for the sake of joy or hunger for knowledge.
Another thing I found myself questioning was the natural sciences' researching methods. I addressed the problems of experimenting on animals from a legal perspective before, only academically. This book also got me thinking about the nature-related information I am thrilled at are mostly reached with ethically questionable methods. Should I feel guilty for getting excited about what I learned about the genomic evolution of birds? I don't want to be too dramatic about it, but now I know that little canary's brain was removed while she was singing her heart out. I will definitely be thinking about it and try to handle the situation from different perspectives, though there's nothing I can change only with my personal effort nor those studies aren't made just for the sake of joy or hunger for knowledge.
January 19, 2010
I enjoyed this a lot more than I'd hoped to, given the somewhat uninspiring blurb, which basically reads as: 'musician/philosopher starts thinking, and comes up with a revolutionary new explanation for why birds sing that scientists have missed: because they want to!'.
So many things are wrong with that, and they're pretty obvious, so no need for me to diagram it out.
Pleasantly, the book is better than that, and Rothenberg does turn out to know the difference between 'things that I would like to be true because they feel right' and 'things we can actually test (or prove, in the old sense of the word)'. He also sees the benefit of both approaches, and mostly manages to walk the line between both worlds without too much dipping into 'god, scientists are dull and uninspired and fail to notice creativity - also, did you know they kill animals, which is bad, and they don't think about that enough' too much. That tone does turn up a bit, accompanied by small bouts of swearing from me (yes, painting scientists as unfeeling and unethical is one of my buttons, not to mention being so bloody cliched), but on the whole he balances it out, in the end sticking to the point that all the approaches to studying birdsong - music, science, poetry - have their own goals, and their own advantages. Both approaches also might have elements or expertise that can offer some enlightenment or inspiration to the pursuit of the other.
I appreciate the way that Rothenberg has woven in a bunch of different strands of people thinking about bird song, both in science and art, into his personal narrative of just wanting to find ways to make music with birds. He's not shy about pointing out that this is his personal story and opinions, leavened by some other stories, music, or poems he's been hearing or thinking about, but he's interesting, and he's assembled a lot of interesting and wide-ranging stories into this book, which makes it overall (with my mini-breaks for occasional swearing) a pleasure to read.
So many things are wrong with that, and they're pretty obvious, so no need for me to diagram it out.
Pleasantly, the book is better than that, and Rothenberg does turn out to know the difference between 'things that I would like to be true because they feel right' and 'things we can actually test (or prove, in the old sense of the word)'. He also sees the benefit of both approaches, and mostly manages to walk the line between both worlds without too much dipping into 'god, scientists are dull and uninspired and fail to notice creativity - also, did you know they kill animals, which is bad, and they don't think about that enough' too much. That tone does turn up a bit, accompanied by small bouts of swearing from me (yes, painting scientists as unfeeling and unethical is one of my buttons, not to mention being so bloody cliched), but on the whole he balances it out, in the end sticking to the point that all the approaches to studying birdsong - music, science, poetry - have their own goals, and their own advantages. Both approaches also might have elements or expertise that can offer some enlightenment or inspiration to the pursuit of the other.
I appreciate the way that Rothenberg has woven in a bunch of different strands of people thinking about bird song, both in science and art, into his personal narrative of just wanting to find ways to make music with birds. He's not shy about pointing out that this is his personal story and opinions, leavened by some other stories, music, or poems he's been hearing or thinking about, but he's interesting, and he's assembled a lot of interesting and wide-ranging stories into this book, which makes it overall (with my mini-breaks for occasional swearing) a pleasure to read.
January 29, 2009
This book is almost great. I like the concept: pairing scientific studies of bird song with the poetic and aesthetic appreciation of it. But it ends up just saying the same thing over and over in different ways: maybe birds sing just because they want to and enjoy it. Maybe birds have the same need for artistic expression as humans.
I stopped on page 53 because I got distracted with other books, but I doubted that the "debate" would develop much between there and the last sentence on page 229: "The music made the questions begin, but no answer will erase the gift of the song, one simple offering from human to animal and back." (He says "human to animal" because he plays instruments along with birds in a kind of cross-species duet.)
There's an accompanying website that has audio clips of bird song and the author's duets. I never checked it out, but I like that he makes bird song available. There's nothing more frustrating than reading about music you can't hear.
I stopped on page 53 because I got distracted with other books, but I doubted that the "debate" would develop much between there and the last sentence on page 229: "The music made the questions begin, but no answer will erase the gift of the song, one simple offering from human to animal and back." (He says "human to animal" because he plays instruments along with birds in a kind of cross-species duet.)
There's an accompanying website that has audio clips of bird song and the author's duets. I never checked it out, but I like that he makes bird song available. There's nothing more frustrating than reading about music you can't hear.
March 24, 2012
I wish there was an 'unfinished' option as this is among one of the few books I have ashamedly not finished, and there are only about 4 books on that list. Why Birds Sing had such potential and I was very excited to read it, but unfortunately although it may contain much wonderful prose and information on birds and their beautiful tunes, I could not get past the mediocre writing and/or poor editing job.
What could have been a lilting melody fit for the subject was instead an awkward clunk of words. I could only get to chapter 4.
The high:
"The Chuckee of Siberia speak of the "attainable border of the birds," the place where they cross from summer to winter climes, a barrier in the sky, a dangerous crossing, but something actually accessible to the strive, the seeker." (p.17)
The low:
"Proof that if you care about your children you'll want them to run with the popular crowd. You don't want them to be too different or your genes will go nowhere." (p.37)
What could have been a lilting melody fit for the subject was instead an awkward clunk of words. I could only get to chapter 4.
The high:
"The Chuckee of Siberia speak of the "attainable border of the birds," the place where they cross from summer to winter climes, a barrier in the sky, a dangerous crossing, but something actually accessible to the strive, the seeker." (p.17)
The low:
"Proof that if you care about your children you'll want them to run with the popular crowd. You don't want them to be too different or your genes will go nowhere." (p.37)
June 18, 2008
Let me just say that I almost NEVER quit books part way through. This one started off ok...interesting look at bird songs because the author is a musician and I think that if he stuck to that angle it would have been good. A new look at something that I've read a bunch on. But then he tries to do science, which he does poorly at best. I don't mind theory, in fact I enjoy the theoretical sciences bunches, but this guy was clearly pulling information out of his ass. Horrible. Got to chapter 3 and could not continue. The best thing that I learned from this book was that there is a national aviary in Pittsbourgh, PA. I want to go there but will not revisit this book again.
August 19, 2022
The reader needs to be up on their biology or music to benefit from this book. Poetry is also involved. I found that going to YouTube and listening to the various bird songs greatly enhanced my enjoyment.
August 10, 2023
Birdsong is one of the great delights of any naturalist's life, and this book explores the fascinating question of why birds sing. The author is a philosopher and musician and, after playing his clarinet to a laughing thrush, became interested in the similarities between birdsong and human music.
Birdsong has always been important to people. The author shares stories of how Aboriginal Australians believe that the lyrebird (which mimics the songs of other species) gave the other birds their voices, and the Hopi people of North America believe something similar about the mocking bird.
The book outlines the development of scientific studies of birdsong from recordings and annotation of songs in the field to the surely ethically dubious dissection of bird brains to find out how song works. The author discusses the ethics of these experiments and is clearly not entirely comfortable with them:
"... scientists ought to spend a little time...trying to justify the practice, rather than simply accepting its validity. Not even one songbird should be slaughtered without some pang of guilt"
He goes on to argue for the need for open discussion about the ethics of killing birds for science, but seems, finally, to accept that given the birds are well looked after before being 'sacrificed' (as the scientists like to say) that the experiments are worth it. I'm not sure, birdsong is a wonder in itself, I don't feel the need to kill the singer to find out where the song comes from.
The best part of the book are the anecdotes, such as the experience of Marianne Engel with her pet starlings:
"Another bird would imitate the soft sound of the fluorescent light above his cage, especially one time when the power was out, as if yearning for the light to come back. A third copied a teapot's whistle and when Engle got a new, non-whistling kettle, the bird would still whistle whenever the pot was placed on the stove"
Birdsong is becoming rarer as many species are declining, and the author ends a book with a plea to preserve nature so that future generations can continue to enjoy the beauty of birdsong.
The book is very technical in places, including lots of sonograms (graphs of sounds) and extracts of musical notation. This makes it slightly less accessible if you're not comfortable and familiar with these two methods of representing sound.
Birdsong has always been important to people. The author shares stories of how Aboriginal Australians believe that the lyrebird (which mimics the songs of other species) gave the other birds their voices, and the Hopi people of North America believe something similar about the mocking bird.
The book outlines the development of scientific studies of birdsong from recordings and annotation of songs in the field to the surely ethically dubious dissection of bird brains to find out how song works. The author discusses the ethics of these experiments and is clearly not entirely comfortable with them:
"... scientists ought to spend a little time...trying to justify the practice, rather than simply accepting its validity. Not even one songbird should be slaughtered without some pang of guilt"
He goes on to argue for the need for open discussion about the ethics of killing birds for science, but seems, finally, to accept that given the birds are well looked after before being 'sacrificed' (as the scientists like to say) that the experiments are worth it. I'm not sure, birdsong is a wonder in itself, I don't feel the need to kill the singer to find out where the song comes from.
The best part of the book are the anecdotes, such as the experience of Marianne Engel with her pet starlings:
"Another bird would imitate the soft sound of the fluorescent light above his cage, especially one time when the power was out, as if yearning for the light to come back. A third copied a teapot's whistle and when Engle got a new, non-whistling kettle, the bird would still whistle whenever the pot was placed on the stove"
Birdsong is becoming rarer as many species are declining, and the author ends a book with a plea to preserve nature so that future generations can continue to enjoy the beauty of birdsong.
The book is very technical in places, including lots of sonograms (graphs of sounds) and extracts of musical notation. This makes it slightly less accessible if you're not comfortable and familiar with these two methods of representing sound.
April 28, 2019
Why do birds sing? No one knows - yet. But there are a lot of people working on finding out. And some of their methods aren't pretty.
In addition to discussing his own inquiries into the subject, Rothenberg describes formal research being done in scientific laboratories. And he's not afraid to describe exactly how these experiments are done. In one example, a researcher wanted to know if birds need to hear to learn to sing. So the researcher deafened birds of several different species by using a tiny hook to pull out their cochlea. "You might squirm when you learn how this experiment was conducted," says Rothenberg. "Many scientists doing this work believe the birds feel little pain when treated thus... All scientists who conduct this kind of research believe the results of their work justify the means." But in the next paragraph, he adds, "No one dares do this kind of experiment on humans." And, "As amazing as their brains turn out to be, the birds do not sign consent forms authorizing us to take their lives for study. I hope that the ethics committees that are supposed to approve all animal experiments consider such issues."
In addition to discussing his own inquiries into the subject, Rothenberg describes formal research being done in scientific laboratories. And he's not afraid to describe exactly how these experiments are done. In one example, a researcher wanted to know if birds need to hear to learn to sing. So the researcher deafened birds of several different species by using a tiny hook to pull out their cochlea. "You might squirm when you learn how this experiment was conducted," says Rothenberg. "Many scientists doing this work believe the birds feel little pain when treated thus... All scientists who conduct this kind of research believe the results of their work justify the means." But in the next paragraph, he adds, "No one dares do this kind of experiment on humans." And, "As amazing as their brains turn out to be, the birds do not sign consent forms authorizing us to take their lives for study. I hope that the ethics committees that are supposed to approve all animal experiments consider such issues."
April 13, 2023
52-book-club-2023-challenge # 1 A Book with a Subtitle
I don't know many birds by name and I know even fewer by their songs. However, since reading Why Birds Sing I am listening better and enjoying their songs more. I learned that in the 18th century many people in England and Germany were interested in playing music with birds. Using the musical phrases in the book and listening to bird songs, my flute and I are going to try to make some musical connections with birds...until my neighbors' complaints echo louder than our "music."
I don't know many birds by name and I know even fewer by their songs. However, since reading Why Birds Sing I am listening better and enjoying their songs more. I learned that in the 18th century many people in England and Germany were interested in playing music with birds. Using the musical phrases in the book and listening to bird songs, my flute and I are going to try to make some musical connections with birds...until my neighbors' complaints echo louder than our "music."
July 1, 2022
The man clearly loves birds and music. It's obvious he's a philosophy professor, as "why birds sing" is more of a... Spiritual question, it turns out, than a mechanical one. While Dave here clearly has contempt for the scientific -process- he clearly respects the knowledge we've gained and covers a number of interesting bird facts.
George is the GOAT though. Must be cool to hang out with a lyrebird in the woods.
George is the GOAT though. Must be cool to hang out with a lyrebird in the woods.
April 25, 2024
I enjoyed this journey through nature, sound, and science. I was confused much of the time - it leapt between topics without resolving many questions. Yet, that felt like the point: Understanding why birds sing is not necessarily straightforward and he gives a lot of pieces of evidence (although I would've wanted to know what some of those pieces were trying to prove).
Overall, an interesting read lacking structure that makes up for it in its sense of curiosity.
Overall, an interesting read lacking structure that makes up for it in its sense of curiosity.
August 24, 2025
2.5, but rounded down. Honestly, this was a really difficult read for me and I seriously struggled to finish it. Rothenberg is a good writer/poet/musician/philosopher - but, unfortunately, he is very dry and repetitive. I enjoyed the poetry he included, the history on sonograms, and info about people he mentions, but he is just too dry. I genuinely fell asleep reading several times.
Good information, but he made me realize I don't really like philosophy. At least not written like this. :/
Good information, but he made me realize I don't really like philosophy. At least not written like this. :/
September 3, 2022
I've been reading this slowly over the course of the summer in a screen room in the woods, and it's been a completely delightful experience... if you have a way to read the book surrounded by bird song, highly recommended! it's a wonderful book: great balance of art and science, really a pleasure...
June 10, 2023
I struggled to get through this book but kept finding fascinating little nuggets that kept me reopening to the next chapter.
There’s definitely a lot more to this world of research than I could have anticipated and loved that it had a wide span. Also, having the companion CD probably would have helped keep me interested especially with all the scores of music and sonographs.
There’s definitely a lot more to this world of research than I could have anticipated and loved that it had a wide span. Also, having the companion CD probably would have helped keep me interested especially with all the scores of music and sonographs.
March 26, 2019
Love this book! Everyone who loves birds, their songs and calls should read this. Well written, interesting stories, science to back up observations, and lots of history of those who pioneered documenting bird songs.
May 8, 2017
A fun book to read I have heard birds sing for years it's a way to identify them like their looks are that is until you run into a mimic like the mockingbird
January 19, 2018
Interesting in-depth concepts relating birdsong and music theory.
Read
July 2, 2019Did not finish. Read the first few pages and then flipped through the rest and found that it wasn't really what I had hoped it to be.
February 10, 2020
wide ranging; some great parts but some dragged a bit
March 18, 2021
Birbs 🥰
February 24, 2023
A slow read for me, but super interesting!
March 30, 2023
It was a very interesting read, but my lack of musical knowledge made it difficult at times. The author put the National Aviary on my bucket list!
May 27, 2024
interesante, pero muy técnico y muy enfocado en teoría musical
October 28, 2024
Astonishing! Fascinating beautiful look at bird song! Through the lense of art, science and the history of musical discovery!
November 21, 2023
I did enjoy this book, but after reading, I did not chronicle a review as I typically do: “The astonishing richness of birdsong is both an aesthetic and a scientific mystery. Evolutionists have never been able to completely explain why birdsong is so inventive and why many species devote so many hours to singing. The standard explanations of defending territories and attracting mates don't begin to account for the variety and energy that the commonest birds exhibit. Is it possible that birds sing because they like to? This seemingly naive explanation is starting to look more and more like the truth. Why Birds Sing is a lyric exploration of birdsong that blends the latest scientific research with a deep understanding of musical beauty and form. Drawing on conversations with neuroscientists, ecologists, and composers, it is the first book to investigate the elusive question of why birds sing and what their song means to both avian and human ears. Whether playing his clarinet with the whitecrested laughing thrush in Pittsburgh, or jamming in the Australian winter breeding grounds of the Albert's lyrebird, Rothenberg immerses himself in the heart and soul of birdsong. He approaches the subject as a naturalist, philosopher, musician, and investigator. An intimate look at the mostlovely of natural phenomena, Why Birds Sing is a beautifully written exploration of a phenomenon that's at once familiar and profoundly alien.”
February 6, 2008
Absolutely great. Thanks to my old pal Michael Pestel, David & I have played together before as a part of Michael's 'swan song' to Chatham College - where he'd taught for many yrs. This bk is marvelous - very well researched - managing to be of good general interest as well as of good interest to ornithologists & musicians inspired by birdsong, etc, etc.. I've gotten the impression that this bk is popular (or at least by obscurantist standards) & that's just fine w/ me. David explores the subject of birdsong from as many different angles as there probably are: as analyzed, as incorporated into human music, as simulated in poetry, as explored by vivisectionists. W/o being highly technical, his approach to the subject is fairly exhaustive - any deeper reading wd require going to primary sources. Thank you, David, I love this bk. &, besides, it comes w/ a CD that both Michael & David play on - along w/ birds a'plenty - including a LYRE BIRD. What more cd ya ask for?!
January 30, 2009
I just happened to be walking past this book in the library and decided to add it to my growing pile. It has been a delightful book to peruse; since I'm not really a birder, nor a musician, nor a scientist, there was much information that simply flew over my head, but I loved his thesis and mode of inquiry and willingness to ask question after question without feeling the need for a definitive conclusion.
More than anything it gave me a new appreciation for the sounds coming from the finches sitting on my fountain--and the coos of the pigeon on the wire. I wonder, "are they just singing to sing, today? Are they young birds trying to learn the notes of their species?" And I wonder if they are simply singing because the sky is blue--because it is so very blue...
Anyway, very fun. I'd certainly recommend this to anyone who has an interest in birds and their habits.
More than anything it gave me a new appreciation for the sounds coming from the finches sitting on my fountain--and the coos of the pigeon on the wire. I wonder, "are they just singing to sing, today? Are they young birds trying to learn the notes of their species?" And I wonder if they are simply singing because the sky is blue--because it is so very blue...
Anyway, very fun. I'd certainly recommend this to anyone who has an interest in birds and their habits.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews