Cities Change the Songs of Birds

@article{Slabbekoorn2006CitiesCT,
  title={Cities Change the Songs of Birds},
  author={Hans Slabbekoorn and Ardie M. den Boer-Visser},
  journal={Current Biology},
  year={2006},
  volume={16},
  pages={2326-2331}
}
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Songs of the city: noise-dependent spectral plasticity in the acoustic phenotype of urban birds
Urban-associated drivers of song variation along a rural–urban gradient
TLDR
Findings show that although anthropogenic noise may shape urban-associated changes in song, other features of the urban environment may be more important contributors to patterns in song variation.
Blackbirds sing higher-pitched songs in cities: adaptation to habitat acoustics or side-effect of urbanization?
Noisy human neighbours affect where urban monkeys live
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It is shown that urban black-tufted marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) living in noisy urban areas may select their home-range based primarily on ambient noise level, providing evidence that the use of home- range by wild animals can be affected by a potential aversive stimulus such as noise pollution.
Singing in the city: high song frequencies are no guarantee for urban success in birds
TLDR
Although song frequency was related to habitat preferences and body size of the species, none of these factors explained the lack of association with urban success, and these high frequencies are apparently no guarantee for the success of bird species in urbanized environments.
Birds and Anthropogenic Noise: Are Urban Songs Adaptive?
TLDR
It is found that frequency changes of urban songs are not very effective in mitigating masking from traffic noise, and an increase in vocal pitch increased communication distance only marginally, while vocal amplitude adjustments had a strong and significantly larger effect.
Signal information of bird song changes in human-dominated landscapes
TLDR
This is one of few studies to investigate signal relationships and potential fitness consequences of song variation in natural urban systems, thereby providing insight into micro-evolutionary processes operating within novel environments.
Increased attenuation and reverberation are associated with lower maximum frequencies and narrow bandwidth of bird songs in cities
As urbanization expands globally, the communication systems of an increasing number of species are affected. Because bird song is a long-distance signal used to attract mates and defend territories,…
Birdsongs keep pace with city life: changes in song over time in an urban songbird affects communication
Bird song variations along an urban gradient: The case of the European blackbird (Turdus merula)
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References

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