Learn bird talk
![Barbara Ballentine. File photo](https://smokymountainnews.s3.amazonaws.com/media/k2/items/cache/63ffb94d737736e3cbff522c6dcec12d_XL.jpg?javer=2409070744?t=20240124_155400)
Find out how birds talk to each other during a program offered at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29, at the Cowee School Arts and Heritage Center near Franklin. This talk was rescheduled from its original Jan. 15 date due to inclement weather.
Barbara Ballentine, Ph.D., an associate professor of biology at Western Carolina University, will speak on “Bird Talk: An Exploration of Avian Communication.” The beauty of birdsong is one of the joys of nature, and this talk will explore how songs are learnt and performed, why the quality of a male’s repertoire can affect his mating success, and how birds use song-matching and countersinging in territorial disputes. Birds communicate through visual signals too, such as bright-colored feathers and aggressive wing-waving. Understanding how birds produce and use signals to commuicate provides insight into their lives.
The program is offered as part of the “Where We Live: Nature, History and Culture” series. The Cowee Center is located at 51 Cowee School Road.