Many years ago I stopped to listen to Robins as I was walking down my lane. Two Robins were holding a conversation with each other. I listened very carefully for some time. This was obviously not just 'bird-song', and it didn't sound much like two Robins declaring their respective territories either. Their voices were slightly muted (compared with territorial declarations)
The distinct phrasing...the way one Robin fell quiet while the other one spoke....cadences... sounds which did not seem random, as occasionally features, or parts of features were repeated exactly.
I think if we had the ability to translate, we would find those birds were having a complex conversation.
We are also too eager to dismiss other more subtle means of conveying complex communications between creatures too. In cases where voices aren't used, and body signals given, we have a tendency to over-ride those, thinking of them as very simple, when in fact there are slight nuances which mean altogether different things.
Similar to the way a word pronounced with different inflexions of the voice in Mandarin, for example, can mean different things entirely.
The distinct phrasing...the way one Robin fell quiet while the other one spoke....cadences... sounds which did not seem random, as occasionally features, or parts of features were repeated exactly.
I think if we had the ability to translate, we would find those birds were having a complex conversation.
We are also too eager to dismiss other more subtle means of conveying complex communications between creatures too. In cases where voices aren't used, and body signals given, we have a tendency to over-ride those, thinking of them as very simple, when in fact there are slight nuances which mean altogether different things.
Similar to the way a word pronounced with different inflexions of the voice in Mandarin, for example, can mean different things entirely.
