A deep-voiced black-capped chickadee may wonder why other birds ignore it, but there could be a good reason behind the snub, according to University of Alberta research that studied how the bird responds to calls.

Dr. Chris Sturdy, a U of A psychology professor, and Dr. Isabelle Charrier, a post-doctoral fellow in Sturdy's lab, modified the black-capped chickadee calls, played those sounds back to the bird and observed how it reacted. They found that the chickadee relies on several acoustic features including pitch, order of the notes and rhythm of the call. It also rejected the calls of the control bird, the gray-crowned rosy finch, in favour of its own species. The findings are published in the current edition of the journal Behavioural Processes.

Bully birds such as blue jays and European starlings are a nuisance, but you can take some simple steps to prevent them from dominating feeders—and allow less aggressive birds to enjoy your hospitality. Here’s how:

Join Seward Park Audubon staff, volunteers, and local experts in identifying the many birds that call Seward Park and Lake Washington home. While each outing will vary in route walked and in birds observed, we'll always go over binocular and spotting scope use, field guides, bird behavior, and bird identification techniques...and hopefully spot some great birds, too!