I thought to myself, what do we humans know about birdsong? How does it fit in music theory? I'm not even sure I want to follow the leads right now, but I'll make a first pass.
First internet search was "academic study bird song," hoping there some
Sort of a jackpot overview:
Another article:
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/the-development-of-birdsong-16133266/
Here is a Florida State group going in the weeds:
https://birdsong.neuro.fsu.edu/publications
Next I went "bird song music theory" but it came up with too much that seemed too confident, yet contradictory, so I will such search that another time when I have the time and interest.
Page three of the results yielded this gem (I clicked it because I thought it would be the least jargon-chocked):
https://www.audubon.org/magazine/january-february-2014/dr-emily-doolittle-music-birds
A quote:
Across cultures, people find the musician wren’s song quite interesting. The range it sings in is much closer to ranges you’re used to hearing in music. Many birds have songs so high that it’s hard for us to think of them in musical terms because they’re above any instrument or voice we listen to. The musician wren also sings slower than other birds of its size, so we can listen to it in real time. The timbre [vocal quality] is very similar to a human whistle. If you were walking in the Amazon and you heard one, you might think there was a person whistling that tune.
