1. Birdsong and a Summer of Research at
the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Josh Rieskamp, Centre College, Class of 2015
Research Questions
Introduction to Veery Song
How many song types do veeries use?
Why Does the Songbird Sing?
1. To attract mates
2. To defend territories
How many notes make up their songs?
How do songs vary within repertoires?
What is a Song Repertoire?
There is incredible diversity in bird song, both
between species and between individuals of the
same species. Scientists study this diversity by
cataloguing the song repertoires of bird
species, which is the entire range of distinct song
types that members of the species are known to
use. The song repertoire of an individual bird
includes only those songs within the larger
species repertoire that the individual bird knows
and uses.
“Reading” a Veery Song
Phrase 1:
Introductory
Note
Phrase 2:
Repeated High
Frequency Notes
How do songs vary among repertoires?
Veery Song Modification:
Repetition/Addition
The “typical” version of the song type
A modified version of the same song type in which an
additional note is placed in Phrase 2 as well as an
additional note in Phrase 3.
Veery Song Modification:
Translocation
Phrase 3: Repeated
Low Frequency Notes
and “Trill”
The “typical” version of the song type
A modified version of the same song type in which the
final Phrase 3 note of the “typical” version is shifted to a
higher frequency and placed as the second note in
Phrase 2.
Method
Dr. Belinsky (my mentor) recorded over 1752
songs from veeries living on the Cary Institute
property during the summer of 2009. I created
sonograms of every song using Cornell
University’s RavenPro software. For each song, I
recorded the song type, number of notes in each
song, and temporal and frequency measurements.
Results and Implications
Individual veery repertoires ranged from 1 to 3
song types, and most individuals used only a
single song type. However, veeries used a lot of
modified variations of their single song type.
These modifications fell under four main
categories including
additions/repetitions, deletions, translocations, a
nd frequency shifts. Compared to other bird
species, veery song is complex and the
differences between song types are subtle.
Some Highlights of the REU Program:
The Plant Science Building
Pete Seeger’s sloop Clearwater
Field Day with elementary students
Bacon Flats