Zoomusicology
Zoomusicology is the study of the music of non-human animals. It deals with the musical aspects of sound or communication produced and received by animals. It is distinguished from Ethnomusicology which is the study of human music. There were many people demonstrated the effects of music on animals. They also show how music can affect animal behavior and animal psychology. Zoomusicologist defines the subject of zoomusicology as the use of sound communication among animals. Music is a wide spread phenomenon in several living species apart from man.
Composers have imitated animal sounds in compositions. Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. Bird songs are the bird sounds which are melodious to the human ear. The birdsongs are generally longer and more complex and are associated with courtship and mating. But calls tend to serve functions such as alarms. Most songs of the bird are emitted by male rather than female birds. Some species of birds are generally voiceless. Hence they may produce only rhythmic sounds.
Storks produce only percussive and rhythmic sounds. The quality of bird song may be a good indicator of fitness. Communication over bird calls can be between individuals of the same species or even across species. They can communicate through vocalizations and movements. Bird alarms can be clearly understood by the other birds in order to identify the specific threat. Mostly these sound alarms are high-pitched, making the caller location difficult to identify. Whale sounds are the sounds produced by whales. These sounds are used for different kinds of communication. The pattern of the regular sounds made by Humpback Whale is described as “song”. Male humpback whales produce these sounds only during the mating season.
Marine mammals like whales, dolphins are more dependent on sound for communication than are land mammals. The sight of animals is less effective in water.
The word song for whales is used to describe the pattern of regular and predictable sound. The whales use the sound echolocation for detecting the size and nature of the objects. Most whales and dolphins produce an immense variety of whistles, clicks and pulses. Echolocation is biological sonar used by various species of animals. The animals emit calls out to the surroundings and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them. They use these echoes to locate and identify the objects. Micro bats use this echolocation to navigate in total darkness.