Animal calls and vibrations

Animals are a part of our huge Earth family. They comprise the vast diversity on our precious planet. They possess intelligence, soul, characters, instincts, and capabilities that often times exceed ours. They know what they need to survive and they are far more humble than us, humans, well most of them. :) I have observed a few warblers on the cottonwood near the river one breezy night. I couldn't see them actually, so I observed them by ear, I just stood there, listening to them. Their song was mesmerizing. I have noticed something else too, their singing wasn't random at all. There was a clear communication going on among them. They were, and of course still are, good and respectful listeners. by the way.

They were talking to each other using their song, and they did that one after another waiting for their turn to indulge in this cheerful conversation. What's more, there was a clear distinction between the change in intonation, something present in the human language. It seemed like, the intonation rose a bit, as if they were asking a question and dropped a bit when they were answering it. It sounded quite wobbly when they were making a statement or when their monolog was prolonged. This was like a new foreign language I couldn't understand but I would be quite eager to learn and it was so enticing like honey to my ears. Pure magnificence. It appeared like the river was enjoying this pleasant conversation and harmonization as it was flickering in thousands of sparks and vibrating in thousands of little waves. The vibration these birds send out through their voices is in such a natural, unspoiled flow that would sooth the darkest pit of the soul.

This observation does not stop here. All the animals have a unique way of communicating vocalizing, stridulating (when they rub specialized body parts to create a sound), visual, tactile, electric techniques to name a few.

One of the most powerful predators of the forest and tundra, his majesty The Wolf is a master of vocal communication. It is very well known for its vigorous howling which serves to gather the pack together, to warn the pack of outside threats and to signal them for its location. These mighty howls reach an incredible range up to 9.6 kilometers in forests and 16 kilometers in the tundra. Their singing at the moon is just a myth though. They are nocturnal animals so they raise their chins up and use the night air to convey better acoustic performance (Source-http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/wolves-howling-at-moon1.htm)

What about the gentle and friendly Dolphins? They are a wonder of wielding sound and vibration for communication. They have a very interesting way of introducing themselves using a signature whistle, which is a distinctive high-pitched whistle characterizing every individual dolphin. In order to be accepted in a group they have quite a trick up their, well - fins :), they learn and then imitate the whistle of other dolphins. Another peculiar capability they have developed so well is the echolocation, also known as sonar when they release sound waves under water using high-frequency clicks. They use this technique to see underwater and they achieve this when the sound waves bounce off of objects nearby in the water. Truly miraculous!

(Sources - https://dolphins.org/communication, http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-do-dolphins-use-echolocation)

And here comes the proud, yet humble prince of the stables, his highness The Horse. Horses use vocalizations to show emotions or general ideas. They will tell you that they are happy to see you by nickering softly and that they are excited by snorting.

They convey confidence by exhibiting their famous neighing and relief with sighing. They also have a very subtle way of gesture communication using their mobile ears, which they point towards the food they like, the person who's coming, the horse they want to warn about something.

(Source - https://practicalhorsemanmag.com/health-archive/understand-horse-communication-11362)

Known for their social nature the noble giants The Elephants have a wide range of acoustic communication. They know what is their message and know how to get it across very well. Their vast vocalizing capabilities are divided into two groups: 1.Laryngeal calls and 2.Trunk calls. All their roars, rumbles, revs, snorts, trumpets, cries are sources of their rich elephant language. They are so clever, they have even mastered imitating the calls such as chirping, purring, croaking, some parts of human speech too. (Source - https://www.elephantvoices.org/multimedia-resources/elephant-calls-database-contexts.html)

Right around the corner, out comes the sly and slightly sneaky feline, a housemate of ours - The Cat. Her voice is meant for us to hear and that is its highest intention, to communicate with us. Cats like to "talk" to humans and we can easily understand what are they saying by paying close attention to the pitch of their meows. If it is a high pitched meow, it is supposed to be a friendly talk or a plea for food or attention.

But if it is a low pitched meow( more like a grunt), then that is a clear indication that our feline has hostile intentions. Not to forget to mention, their purr, produced by contracting the larynx muscles rapidly. It is believed that these purring vibrations are quite therapeutic for us.

(Source - https://thecatsite.com/ams/cat-sounds-feline-vocal-communication.29677/)

Chasing the cat away, wagging its flexible tail, in runs the man's best friend,

The Dog, to tell its own vocal story. By noticing the differences of its bark alone, you can understand it very well. When they are barking sharply and highly they tell us that they are either excited or happy to see us. To warn us, or other dogs of threats they produce prolonged noticeable bark. In an attempt to defend themselves or to attack they growl quite angrily and annoyingly. To show sadness, loneliness or pain they whine.

(Source- http://www.petmd.com/dog/puppycenter/communication/evr_dg_vocal_communication?page=2) Out here on a summer night in the grassy field, there is The little Cricket - chirping marvelously. The production of its chirp is quite a delight of nature.

Crickets scrap the hardened edge of one wing on the underside of the other wing, a process that produces filtered and amplified vibrations in many musical tones for many purposes. The main purpose of the male crickets (that are the only singers though) is to court the female crickets for mating, while the job of the females is to enjoy this male solo performance.

 (Source- http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Cricket_acoustic_communication)

These are just a few of the many examples of the wide spectrum of sounds and vibrations animals use to make our colorful world ever so merry and frolic. Did you know that our planet has a distinguished sound that can be heard from outer space? If not you can hear it on the video below.

For me, it sounds like all the birds and crickets put together a giant orchestra and decided to hold an eternal concert to entertain the moon, as our closest neighbor. May we use our voices to contribute to the joy, happiness and peace our Blue Marble is singing about!