On a long-haul flight, there’s nothing worse than sitting next to a chatty stranger.
But songbirds don’t seem to mind, as a new study shows they’re likely to “talk” to other species as they migrate.
Last year, a team of scientists found that birds appear to “bump” with other species at stopovers during migration, but there was no evidence that different species mate or communicate vocally on the wing.
But it has now been discovered that the birds can even chat to gather important information about the journey they are on.
For their new study, University of Illinois researchers analyzed more than 18,000 hours of recorded flight conversations over three years in eastern North America.
They used artificial intelligence (AI) to detect the distinctive flight calls of 27 different species. From this they were able to measure how often certain calls occurred around the same time.
Analysis revealed that several species appear to ‘talk’ while flying – especially those with similar wing lengths.
This is likely because these birds would fly at about the same speed, the researchers said, making it easier for them to communicate.
Last year, a team of scientists discovered that birds appear to ‘friend’ other species at stopovers during migration
A murmur of migrating starlings is seen in the sky at a landfill near Beersheba, Israel, December 27, 2024
Birds with similar sounds were also more likely to “chat” with each other, the researchers found.
Lead author Benjamin Van Doren said: ‘Species with similar wing sizes associate more often, and wing length is directly linked to flight speed.
‘If you imagine two species flying at similar speeds because they have similar wings, then it is much easier for them to stay together.
“In terms of vocalizations, it is possible that species’ calls have converged over time because of this social bond, or that species that happen to make similar sounds simply gravitate more toward each other.”
The team speculates that some songbird species that cannot rely on their parents to show them the way may instead rely on social bonds with others to make the journey.
“We’re not sure what they say, but birds can emit calls in flight to indicate their species, age and sex,” Dr Van Doren added.
“And we can certainly speculate that these flight calls could be related to navigation or finding a suitable stopover.”
The findings have been published in the journal Current Biology.