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| Urban Blackbirds work long hours |
You only have to stand still for the briefest of moments on any busy city street, to realise that the whole world seems to be in one massive hectic rush! Now it appears that it is not just human “townies” that are burning the candle at both ends – birds are too!! New research from Glasgow University has revealed that city birds wake up around 30 minutes before dawn, while forest birds start their day as the sun rose. What is more, city birds stay up later too, meaning their day is lengthened by about 40 minutes.
The team said its research added "to a growing consensus" that towns and cities "have a profound effect on the internal clocks" of both humans and animals.
Another report from scientists at Aberystwyth University found male great tits in 20 UK towns and cities sang at a higher pitch to be heard above the man-made noise. Project scientists said the urban great tit reacted to man-made noise by raising the pitch of its song, but in quieter rural locations a few miles away the pitch was found to be lower.
When the calls of town birds were recorded and played back to rural birds, they did not react quite as they should! The researcher said "They were less aggressive and not quite sure what to make of it. It was like the city birds were speaking a different language. Likewise, we found city birds didn't understand the lower rural pitch."
Thank goodness I live in the middle of nowhere – I’m off for an early night!
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| City Great tits have to shout to be heard! |
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