Singen mit Kopf und Kragen: Die Instrumentallaute der Vögel fordern vollen Körpereinsatz.

Summary Singing with the wings – instrumental sound production in birds Bird wing and tail feathers are able to produce sound in flight and during related movements. Noisy sound is produced primarily as an epiphenomenon to the movements. The sound can, however, also include tonal or harmonic structures and can gain signal value when used in social situations. In a similar way, birds can produce sounds by clattering their keratin covered beaks. For the first time, in this article, the acoustic properties of instrumental bird sounds are analyzed using sonograms. Up to now the biological meaning of instrumental sounds in birds is inferred mainly out of the situations observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]