July 18, 2005
Birds mimic ring tones
Birds have learnt to imitate the ring tones of the omnipresent mobile phones, say German ornithologists, backing up a Danish gentleman's similar claim a few years ago (in 2001, the sparrows in his garden were chirping the Nokia classic tone).
"The birds have an uncanny ability to mimic these ring tones. This has picked up in tandem with the boom in mobile phone ownership," Richard Schneider of the NABU bird conservation centre near the university city of Tuebingen here said.
Jackdaws, starlings and jays were the best mimics, Schneider said adding that even practiced birdwatchers were being fooled by the birds.
One reason for the phenomenon was that these birds were increasingly common in the urban environment, even the relatively shy jay, he said. "There is food and an increasing amount of green space in modern cities."
The birds were simply adapting to their environment in imitating human sounds in what he termed an "evolutionary playground". [via Hindustan Times]
Related:
-- Mockingbird sings ringtones - Some breeds really know how to strut their stuff. Males dance, posture, bluff and sings note from ringtones or doorbells - all part of an elaborate routine to convince females of male prowess.
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