2025.07.06

Definition: birdsong | bird· song | ˈbərd-ˌsȯŋ 

noun

1.

General term

: the “song” of one or more birds.
: the melodious sound and language that we hear birds make.

In an essay for BBC Earth, Angela Saini interviews academic researchers on the sentence structure of birdsong and how oddly similar it can be to human speak.

“Syntax was considered to have uniquely evolved in humans, but our study demonstrates that it has evolved in a wild bird, too. I think many basic features of language capacity are shared between humans and non-human animals, including birds,” says Toshitaka Suzuki, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan, in an interview with Saini.

2.

Ornithological term

: the musical vocalizations of birds, typically uttered by a male songbird in characteristic bursts or phrases for territorial purposes.
: a form of animal communication by birds that is often more complex and used for decision-making purposes, such as courtship or territorial defense.

Connotations

1.
: a 1993 war novel by English author, Sebastian Faulks, part of a trilogy.
: a 2012 tv mini-series based on the Faulks novel.

2.
: a brewing company opened in 2010 and located at 1016 North Davidson Street in Charlotte, NC.

3.
: a Michelin-starred restaurant located at 1085 Mission St in San Francisco, CA and with a rich menu of seafood fare curated by Chef Christopher Bleidorn. It was opened in 2018.

4.
: name of 2018 album and an acoustic title track by Regina Spektor.

5.
: the sounds of nature that you will hear when you go outside and you shut out all other noises.

Bibliography

“Birdsong.” Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/birdsong

“Birdsong.” Michelin Guide. https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/california/san-francisco/restaurant/birdsong

“Birdsong.” Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/birdsong

“Birdsong: Animal Communication.” Science > Biology > Life Cycle, Processes & Properties. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/birdsong-animal-communication

“Birdsong: Novel by Faulks.” Literature < Novels & Short Stories. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Birdsong-by-Faulks

Briggs, Helen, “Fossil sheds light on evolution of birdsong.” BBC News. 12 October 2016
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37618314

Mackenney, Francesca. “Birdsong, Speech and Poetry: The Origins of Art.” Cambridge University Press. 11 Nov 2022. https://cambridgeblog.org/2022/11/birdsong-speech-and-poetry-the-origins-of-art/

Saini, Angela. “The Link Between Birdsong and Language.” BBC Earth. https://www.bbcearth.com/news/the-link-between-birdsong-and-language (Web article)