Can birds make nasal sounds?

Answered by Phillip Nicastro

Birds can indeed make nasal sounds. It’s quite fascinating how they are able to produce these unique sounds that have a distinctive spectrographic pattern. One of the interesting aspects is that birds can produce two whistled or nasal sounds simultaneously, which creates a complex and layered sound.

When birds make these nasal sounds, the spectrographic pattern often shows lines that cross and stack without exactly matching. This creates a dissonant and somewhat whiny sound, similar to the calls of goldfinches. These nasal calls can be quite distinctive and easily recognizable once you become familiar with them.

However, not all nasal sounds produced by birds are whiny or dissonant. Some birds, like many thrushes, have songs that can be described as metallic. These songs have a unique quality that is reminiscent of a metallic sound, and they can be quite captivating to listen to.

It’s important to note that these nasal sounds are not just random noises made by birds. They serve various purposes in bird communication. Birds use these sounds to communicate with other individuals, establish territories, attract mates, and convey different messages.

In my personal experience of birdwatching, I have come across many instances where I have heard these nasal sounds. One particular memory that stands out is when I was observing a group of goldfinches in a park. Their calls were unmistakably nasal and had a whiny quality to them. It was interesting to observe how they would communicate with each other using these unique sounds.

Birds are capable of producing nasal sounds that have a distinctive spectrographic pattern. These sounds can be dissonant and whiny, like the calls of goldfinches, or metallic, like the songs of many thrushes. It’s fascinating to witness how birds use these sounds for communication purposes and how they can produce multiple sounds simultaneously.