It´s the same with birds:
www.birdsahoy.org...
www.pbs.org...
I had a very young robin once who was fallen out of the nest: I saved her the very last moment from a cats claws. Now what to do, I brought her up and
she stayed 6 months me becomming sort of parent to her. I could even take her outside, she would stay on my shoulder or come back to me when she made
her first tries to fly.
I´m a musician and she loved me playing to her.
She mimiced everything I did, thursty to learn: When I sat on the mixing desk she tried to move the faders as I did, when I was working on my Mac she
sat on my shoulder watching the display, jumped on the keyboard picking at the keys when I sat on the piano ... and soon she tried to acompany me,
which wasn´t successful because the pieces I played were not very repetitive, but she always met the key elements of the music I played (mood, tempo,
scale, ...).
One peculiar piece wasn´t easy to play and I repeated a section of just 4 bars many times. One day, when I came home, she started to sing exactly
that part out of nowhere. I was buffled. That seemed to show on my face. There followed something I´d describe as an outburst of laughter...
So I composed several little songs for her.
Over time we developed some kind of communication.
We had songs for: "Let´s have dinner now ! (most important)", "Let´s have a walk in the park !" and even for moods: "I feel so lonely, don´t
go away ...", "Hey, I feel good today !", and "Oh, how I love you !"
I had a song too, which she hated: " Shut up, I have to practise without your acompany !"
The answer was free jazz, highest pitch, as loud as she could, followed by a fury attack on my speakers !
When she had learnt to fly properly (I had a big loft at that time), I left a window open and she made first excursions. Half an hour first, later she
stayed away for three days. I could hear her from far away with the "Let´s have dinner !" song before she rushed in, followed by "Oh, how I love
you!" with kisses on my hand after the biscuits.
And she brought new songs home she taught me patiently. I never clearly understood the meaning, but there was one, somehow "sexy". It had to do with
mating rituals I presume (I won´t go into details, there are under-aged on this forum ...). Let´s say, she seemed to come in the mood when I played
that special song to her...
I got a long-time job in an other country then, I had to move.
I couldn´t focus on the music we played there, "I feel so lonely, don´t go away !" revolving endlessly in my head.
About a month later we had no performances for three days. I took the gap to fly 1200 miles. I went to the park where we had been so often when she
got used to the out-side world little by little. I had a boom-box with me, loops of our songs. I tried "I feel good today !" I hadn´t finished the
first five repetitions when I got an answer. And a second answer from there. And a third answer from there over !
All the robins around knew our song !!!
Need I say........ I couldn´t hold back my tears of joy.
She didn´t show, but I knew she was alright.
I talked with an ornithologist later on. He said my story is nothing out of the ordinary. All the birds have their special song patterns the learn
from others and - birds within a certain district, the borders are usually rivers, big streets, high buildings, have their unique songs.
He didn´t know the meaning of these songs though. I do.
It changed my perception of animals, I´m a vegetarian now.