Which Birdsong Relaxes Us the Most? Science Has the Answer
A new scientific study reveals that human ears find the song of the common blackbird most soothing, while the barn owl's screech is considered the most jarring natural sound.
A recent study published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Bird Science has explored the deep connection between human hearing and birdsong, aiming to discover which sounds induce tranquility and which are perceived as harsh noise.
In the study, led by Dr. Nadine Kalb from the University of Tübingen in Germany, 84 participants listened to recordings of 123 different bird species and rated the pleasantness of their calls on a scale of 1 to 5. The results showed that the bird taking first place with the highest score (4.52) is the common blackbird.
Alongside the blackbird, other top-ranking species for pleasant sounds included the chiffchaff, the Eurasian blackcap, the mistle thrush, and the lesser whitethroat. Researchers identified a total of 21 species classified as calming. According to the findings, the human ear prefers subtle, complex sounds with moderate volume, which evolutionarily signal a safe and quiet environment to the brain.
On the other hand, the study also ranked the least pleasant sounds in nature. Taking last place and the dubious title of the harshest call was the barn owl, which received a low score of just 1.32 due to its screeches. Rounding out the bottom of the list were the Eurasian jay, the peregrine falcon, the grey heron, and the Egyptian goose.
Researchers were surprised to find that participants' ability to identify the bird species did not affect their ratings at all, pointing to a basic and universal human response to these sounds. The study's authors now hope to use the sweet songs of these birds to spearhead international campaigns for nature conservation and biodiversity protection.
