Why birds love a good chat during migration - and how they 'buddy up' with a pal for the long journey
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On a long-haul flight, there’s nothing worse than being sat next to a chatty stranger. But songbirds don’t seem to mind, as a new study suggests they are likely to ‘talk’ to other species as they migrate. Last year, a team of scientists discovered that birds seem to ‘buddy up’ with other species at stopover sites during migration, but there was no evidence that different species pair up or communicate vocally on the wing.
![[A murmuration of migrating starlings is seen across the sky at a landfill site near Beersheba, Israel December 27, 2024]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/16/01/94148931-0-image-a-2_1736990130639.jpg)
But now it’s been found that the birds may even chat to gather important information about the journey they are on. For their new study the researchers, from the University of Illinois, analysed more than 18,000 hours of recorded flight calls made over three years in eastern North America.
They used artificial intelligence (AI) to detect the signature flight calls of 27 different species. From this, they were able to measure how often certain calls occurred at around the same time. Analysis revealed that different species appear to ‘talk’ while flying - especially those with similar wing lengths.
This is likely because these birds would fly at roughly the same speed, the researchers said, making it easier for them to communicate. Last year, a team of scientists discovered that birds seem to ‘buddy up’ with other species at stopover sites during migration.
