Animals use body language and smells to say a lot. T at’s not the only way animals communicate, though. Many use sounds. Some sing and squawk. Others bellow or hiss. Using sound may seem like an obvious
way to communicate. Yet some animals do it in surprising ways. Take parrots, for example. Each bird has a unique call. It identifies the bird. It says whether it’s male or female. It even tells what flock the parrot belongs to. T is call is like a name. New studies show that these names aren’t
just random chirps. Parrots name their babies. T ey chirp at the baby. T ey use the same pattern of notes each time. T at becomes the baby’s call, or name. Soon, the chick leaves the nest. It joins
the rest of the flock. It still needs some care, though. Its parents can find it just by tweeting its name.
Perhaps the most amazing animal song doesn’t come from a bird or a bug. It doesn’t fill the air with sweet notes. Instead, this song echoes through the sea. It’s sung by a whale. Deep in the ocean, a giant whale floats in
the water. It points its head down toward the seafloor. It points its tail up toward the sea’s surface. As it hangs upside down, it sings. Its song sounds like a series of moans and squeaks. T e sound of this eerie song can travel through the water for hundreds of kilometers. Other whales in its group know the same
song, too. T ese animals swim thousands of kilometers as they migrate from place to place. T ey sing the same songs wherever they go. No one is sure why whales sing. It may be to
attract mates. It may be to share information. Or it may be to keep a group together while they migrate. Whale songs are one of the most mysterious ways of communicating in the animal kingdom.
Many animals use their voices to talk to one another. T at’s not the only way they can communicate with sound, though. Some make noises in other ways. For instance, a gorilla drums on its chest to scare off enemies. A rattlesnake rattles its tail as a warning. A grasshopper rubs its back leg against a
wing. T is is like running a bow over violin strings. T e leg rubs a flat part of the wing. T at makes the wing vibrate. T e vibration makes a high, chirping noise. On a warm summer night, a chorus of chirps fills the air. It’s the sound of grasshoppers trying to attract mates.
From body language to smells to sounds, animals can communicate in many ways. In fact, many animals use all three ways to send messages to one another. For example, a wolf may wag its tail when it’s
excited. It may growl when it feels threatened. Its smell tells other wolves where it’s been. Each wriggle, yelp, and smell carries important information. It tells animals what they need to know to survive.
Fun Fact: Sounds made by a blue whale are louder than a jet engine.
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