<p>You could try playing back some sounds to the bird (some canary breeders play the radio to their birds to stimulate them to sing). Presumably, the unusual quietness in the boxes is odd for the birds and providing some auditory stimulation might help them to settle in. I would think that conspecific song is probably a very good trigger to induce singing.</p>
<p>A very detailed review on the responses of songbirds to conspecific song can be found in Catchpole &amp; Slater (2008) Bird Song, Biological Themes and Variations. Cambridge University Press</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-07T14:05:01.757Z
Can you provide any useful links or references to help back up your (very interesting!) answer?
Shannon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-09T14:51:10.833Z
A very detailed review on the responses of songbirds to conspecific song can be found in Catchpole & Slater (2008) Bird Song, Biological Themes and Variations. Cambridge University Press.
Henrik Brumm
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-09T15:19:51.343Z
Thanks! I edited your post to include that reference. See here for more info on answering questions: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/7656/how-do-i-write-a-good-answer-to-a-question
Shannon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-07T11:42:04.717Z
2022-07-09T15:17:32.997Z
2022-07-09T15:17:32.997Z
Henrik Brumm
<p>Testosterone helps I got to know from collaborators. Birds alone in a box is hard for them. They sometimes recover singing after a few days. Playbacks, or even a picture of a companion can help. But alternative methods like on animal sensors or acoustic cameras could be used to record a single animal in a social setting, improving animals welfare.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-08T08:36:06.027Z
2022-07-08T08:36:06.027Z
Jörg Rychen
<p>I wanted to record some canary songs. I housed a pair of domestic canaries to a sound shielded box in Spring, but they did not sing there at all.</p>
<p>The male was a good singer in the grouped bird cage. They seemed to be habituated to their environment, with many calls and the female starting to build a nest when nesting materials is supplied.
I thought about leaving the male alone in the box, but from an animal welfare point of view, I could not do that.</p>
<p>Do you have any idea to motivate the birds in sound shielded boxes to sing ?</p>

<birdsong>
How can I motivate birds to sing in sound shielded boxes?
# How can I motivate birds to sing in sound shielded boxes?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-07-07)

I wanted to record some canary songs. I housed a pair of domestic canaries to a sound shielded box in Spring, but they did not sing there at all.

The male was a good singer in the grouped bird cage. They seemed to be habituated to their environment, with many calls and the female starting to build a nest when nesting materials is supplied.
I thought about leaving the male alone in the box, but from an animal welfare point of view, I could not do that.

Do you have any idea to motivate the birds in sound shielded boxes to sing ?

**Tags:** birdsong


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-07-07. Score: 4

You could try playing back some sounds to the bird (some canary breeders play the radio to their birds to stimulate them to sing). Presumably, the unusual quietness in the boxes is odd for the birds and providing some auditory stimulation might help them to settle in. I would think that conspecific song is probably a very good trigger to induce singing.

A very detailed review on the responses of songbirds to conspecific song can be found in Catchpole & Slater (2008) Bird Song, Biological Themes and Variations. Cambridge University Press

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Can you provide any useful links or references to help back up your (very interesting!) answer?  
> **username_1**: A very detailed review on the responses of songbirds to conspecific song can be found in Catchpole & Slater (2008) Bird Song, Biological Themes and Variations. Cambridge University Press.  
> **username_2**: Thanks! I edited your post to include that reference. See here for more info on answering questions: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/7656/how-do-i-write-a-good-answer-to-a-question  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2022-07-08. Score: 3

Testosterone helps I got to know from collaborators. Birds alone in a box is hard for them. They sometimes recover singing after a few days. Playbacks, or even a picture of a companion can help. But alternative methods like on animal sensors or acoustic cameras could be used to record a single animal in a social setting, improving animals welfare.


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