Okay, but is the dawn chorus getting quieter?

E30. That wall of birdsong outside your window at sunrise has a name, a structure, and a surprising amount of drama. This week Scott talks with Dr. Dan Mennill, a professor at the University of Windsor who wires whole forests with microphones to eavesdrop on the entire neighborhood at once, about what the dawn chorus is actually for, and what it means when it starts to thin out.

In this episode:

Why dawn, why so loud, and who gets to sing first (hint: it's not about who's the best singer)

What 16 microphones and kilometers of cable revealed about birds negotiating in real time

What happened when one field site went quiet, and why that quiet is louder than it sounds

Listen now, then tell us what your morning chorus sounds like.

All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows:

Soundscape contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML516838

Black-throated Green Warbler contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML79475

American Redstart contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML100804

Tufted Titmouse contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML100712

Northern Cardinal contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML191165