As in human languages, there can be “dialects” and sub-languages in the communication of birds. These can sometimes be used to distinguish which area the bird is from.

Birdsong is not an innate skill. Baby birds learn to sing in the same way that humans learn to talk – by following the example of their parents.

Although very difficult to investigate – we cannot ask the birds directly – it seems from observations that several bird species also understand the “language” of other birds living in the same area.