The Surprising Reason Birds Are So Noisy in the Morning

The sounds of birds singing in the morning might serve as your unofficial (and sometimes unwelcome) alarm clock. But why do they always seem to be especially lyrical at the start of the day?

Known as the "dawn chorus," the intensive singing of many bird species in the morning has been recognized as one of the most prominent biological indicators of daybreak, yet its cause has remained unclear.

Until a new study from the Korea Brain Research Institute set out to explore this behavior in captive zebra finches.

In a well-lit lab, the researchers found that the male zebra finches would spontaneously sing hundreds of songs, but in complete darkness, they uttered not a single peep. And when sunrise was artificially delayed by three hours, the rate of the finches' singing intensified and commenced sooner compared with non-delayed sunrises. Instead of sleeping in, the birds were up at their regular time, moving around in the dark while suppressing their song.

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When offered access to a switch that triggered 10 seconds of early light, the ones in the delayed setup frequently turned on the light. Basically, it seems that birds can't wait to burst out in song.

The researchers theorize that this kind of intense morning song may help birds warm up their vocals more quickly following a night of rest, which in turn improves their chances of reproductive success during the day.

Singing is a form of communication used to signal a bird's health, vigor, and fitness to potential partners and to warn off rivals, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Other reasons for singing include courtship rituals, bonding with mates and young, and alerting others to predators or keeping in contact with their flock.