Scientists in France have found that the vast variety of birdsong can be described using eight basic sound types, offering a simpler framework for studying how birds communicate. The research matters because it links song structure to the environments in which birds evolved and may help scientists assess how human-made noise affects wildlife.

Using AI to analyse around 116,000 recordings from more than 3,000 songbird species, the team identified three trill types, three whistle types, chaotic notes and harmonies. Simpler sounds such as flat whistles were more common in tropical forests, where dense vegetation and louder natural soundscapes limit transmission, while faster and more complex trills were more frequent in temperate forests; the study was published in Science.