German study: Nightingale’s song tops list of most enjoyable bird sounds

A new German study reveals that humans prefer the songs of certain birds over others, due to acoustic characteristics in their chirping that make it sweeter and more pleasing to the ear.

According to the American network CNN, the study was conducted by researchers at the University of Tübingen in Germany. It presented recordings of 123 species of wild birds to 84 participants to assess the pleasantness of their songs.

The blackbird topped the list as the most enjoyable, while the barn owl ranked last. The researchers found that people prefer more complex and varied sounds, contrary to the expectation that simple and repetitive sounds would be easier to process and more pleasing.

Nadine Kalb, the lead researcher on the study, stated, “This enjoyment of birdsong is linked to something deeper than merely knowing the bird species.” She noted that the combination of frequency, sound intensity, and breadth determines how pleasant the song is perceived to be.

The researchers believe these findings could benefit urban planners and garden designers. Instead of focusing solely on reducing noise, they could pay greater attention to the nature of the sounds people hear, including the natural sounds of birds.

It is worth noting that previous research has shown that music and birdsong share specific rhythmic patterns, and that playing birdsong recordings through speakers does not provide the same sense of comfort as hearing natural birdsong.