Uploaded April 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Why do animals make music? Animal singers use their songs to communicate. They may share the location of food, find one another, or attract a mate. They may sing to scare off a rival or warn others of danger. And, like humans, some animals, including birds and whales, sometimes seem to sing just for the sheer joy of it.
Birds
Birds use their songs much as we use language. A single area may be home to many types of birds, but a female can locate a male of her species by its song. These love songs are learned behaviors – a male raised by birds of a different species sings his adoptive parents’ song. Some birds have songs
Whales
Researchers recently discovered that new “hit songs” become popular in the humpback whale community in a similar manner to human pop charts. These songs often originated in whale populations off the coast of Australia. Within a year, favorite new songs could be heard in whale populations around the world. By then, the Australian whales were already busy creating even more new tunes.
Tree Frogs
n many parts of the world, tree frogs can be heard singing on warm summer nights. Tree frogs sing to announce their territories and to attract females. Their songs have been known to differ according to the weather.
The Pacific tree frog or Pacific chorus frog manifests a unique musical style. A group of these frogs is called a chorus, and for good reason. The area’s dominant male leads the chorus in its song, with subordinate males responding to his lead.
Katydids
longhorn grasshoppers are large insects found in tropical and temperate regions around the world. Male katydids sing to attract a mate by rapidly moving the front wings. To the human ear, some katydid songs sound like the words “Katey did, she didn’t!” This is where the katydid got its name.
Antelope Squirrels
The antelope squirrel is a solitary North American ground squirrel. When threatened, it stomps its feet and trills a warning song. Young squirrels have been observed practicing their songs as they foraged.
Crickets
Crickets are well known around the world for their songs. Field crickets of the genus Gryllus are ground-dwelling. Male field crickets chirp or sing by rubbing their wings together. One wing has a “file” or sharp ridge while the other has a “scraper,” a series of wrinkles. The field cricket’s wings are designed to produce sound and to amplify it, too. This allows the cricket to use its song to attract a mate. Crickets have multiple songs in their playlists. The “calling song” encourages the female to travel from a distance. When she is close the male sings a softer “courtship song.” If a competing male cricket gets too close, the first male sings a “rivalry song” to ward him away.
Cicadas
Cicadas also use songs to attract a mate. Cicada songs are very loud, especially when they hatch by the millions. Some sing during the day, while others sing at night.
Cicadas sing using a percussion instrument. They have a set of two true percussion organs located in the abdomen. A large muscle can be made to vibrate within a hollow cavity. A lid-like structure regulates the volume of the song.
Tailed Bats
Males of at least one bat species, the Mexican free-tailed bat, use song to attract a mate. The males can change their songs so their female listeners do not lose interest, and they also use songs to warn away rival males. Interestingly, researchers listened to hundreds of hours of recordings in order to make this discovery!
Mice
Male mice sing at an ultrasonic level – at a pitch too high for human ears to hear. Female mice can hear it, though, and males use their songs to attract a mate. It has been observed that some mice seem better at singing than others – some songs attract many females, and others none at all.
Toadfish
An animal that sing is the toadfish. Toadfish have been described as “unusually vocal” animals. After all, you have likely never heard your pet goldfish speak or sing! Yet the male toadfish has a song that can be heard even outside of the water.
Toadfish use their song to attract a mate. The sound has been described as a “grunt or hum,” and researchers have discovered that every toadfish has its own unique song!
#animals #singinganimals #animalsthatsing
Why do animals make music? Animal singers use their songs to communicate. They may share the location of food, find one another, or attract a mate. They may sing to scare off a rival or warn others of danger. And, like humans, some animals, including birds and whales, sometimes seem to sing just for the sheer joy of it.
Birds
Birds use their songs much as we use language. A single area may be home to many types of birds, but a female can locate a male of her species by its song. These love songs are learned behaviors – a male raised by birds of a different species sings his adoptive parents’ song. Some birds have songs
Whales
Researchers recently discovered that new “hit songs” become popular in the humpback whale community in a similar manner to human pop charts. These songs often originated in whale populations off the coast of Australia. Within a year, favorite new songs could be heard in whale populations around the world. By then, the Australian whales were already busy creating even more new tunes.
Tree Frogs
n many parts of the world, tree frogs can be heard singing on warm summer nights. Tree frogs sing to announce their territories and to attract females. Their songs have been known to differ according to the weather.
The Pacific tree frog or Pacific chorus frog manifests a unique musical style. A group of these frogs is called a chorus, and for good reason. The area’s dominant male leads the chorus in its song, with subordinate males responding to his lead.
Katydids
longhorn grasshoppers are large insects found in tropical and temperate regions around the world. Male katydids sing to attract a mate by rapidly moving the front wings. To the human ear, some katydid songs sound like the words “Katey did, she didn’t!” This is where the katydid got its name.
Antelope Squirrels
The antelope squirrel is a solitary North American ground squirrel. When threatened, it stomps its feet and trills a warning song. Young squirrels have been observed practicing their songs as they foraged.
Crickets
Crickets are well known around the world for their songs. Field crickets of the genus Gryllus are ground-dwelling. Male field crickets chirp or sing by rubbing their wings together. One wing has a “file” or sharp ridge while the other has a “scraper,” a series of wrinkles. The field cricket’s wings are designed to produce sound and to amplify it, too. This allows the cricket to use its song to attract a mate. Crickets have multiple songs in their playlists. The “calling song” encourages the female to travel from a distance. When she is close the male sings a softer “courtship song.” If a competing male cricket gets too close, the first male sings a “rivalry song” to ward him away.
Cicadas
Cicadas also use songs to attract a mate. Cicada songs are very loud, especially when they hatch by the millions. Some sing during the day, while others sing at night.
Cicadas sing using a percussion instrument. They have a set of two true percussion organs located in the abdomen. A large muscle can be made to vibrate within a hollow cavity. A lid-like structure regulates the volume of the song.
Tailed Bats
Males of at least one bat species, the Mexican free-tailed bat, use song to attract a mate. The males can change their songs so their female listeners do not lose interest, and they also use songs to warn away rival males. Interestingly, researchers listened to hundreds of hours of recordings in order to make this discovery!
Mice
Male mice sing at an ultrasonic level – at a pitch too high for human ears to hear. Female mice can hear it, though, and males use their songs to attract a mate. It has been observed that some mice seem better at singing than others – some songs attract many females, and others none at all.
Toadfish
An animal that sing is the toadfish. Toadfish have been described as “unusually vocal” animals. After all, you have likely never heard your pet goldfish speak or sing! Yet the male toadfish has a song that can be heard even outside of the water.
Toadfish use their song to attract a mate. The sound has been described as a “grunt or hum,” and researchers have discovered that every toadfish has its own unique song!
#animals #singinganimals #animalsthatsing
