If the animal kingdom were to put out an album, who’d take the lead vocals, and who’d be on the drums? What would it look like?
Click start to play today’s music-themed Word Search.
A number of animals create pleasant sounds that we might consider music. There’s even a whole field of scientific study dedicated to the idea – zoomusicology. Although birds are often the first creatures we think of, when it comes to musical talent, there are many others who display the ability. Here are a few of Nature’s finest musicians:
1. Humpback whales
They sing primarily to attract mates, but recent studies have shown that humpback whales also sing to share their locations, and to determine if another whale is a friend or foe. In 1970, American bio-acoustician Roger Payne released an album called “Songs of the Humpback Whale”, which showed for the first time, the elaborate vocalisaitions of this majestic creature. It became the bestselling environmental album in history, with over 100,000 albums sold.
2. Elephants
They may be known for their trumpeting, but elephants are also known to make the ground vibrate with infrasound – sounds too low for the human ear but which can travel up to 9.6km away. The deep, bass music of elephants acts as a mating call. Elephants can pick up infrasound through the bones of their legs, which transmit the vibrations to their inner ears, or with the nerves in the pads of their feet.
3. Bats
For a long time, it was thought that bats only made sounds to echolocate. But recent studies have found they have much more involved social lives. Some species sing songs that are at too high a frequency for humans, in order to guard territories and court females. Bat songs are produced at two to four times higher frequencies than we can hear, but when modified, they sound like chirping songbirds.
4. Mice
Male mice sing ultrasonic songs, similar to the courtship songs of birds, when trying to woo female mice. The mice sing at a higher frequency than we are able to hear, and can even modify their syntax, including the length of the song sequence and its composition, based on their environment and how quickly they need to wrap up their courtship.
Did you know about these animal musicians? Play today’s Word Search and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
