The Bird language!

I noticed a pair of Noisy Miner on a cable. The male was singing and its partner was listening. The bird songs are for various reasons. 

One of them is to entice its pair for courtship. 

One response this bird song generates in the other pair is intense attentiveness. Some female birds choose to be a pair depending on how much the bird song of the male was tuneful and sensual. The singing bird modulates and varies the bird songs, corresponding to the response of the listening female bird. 

I like this rhythm- singing and listening!

I find its parallel in infants when the mother sings to her infant. Often infants from four months of age can listen to mother's voice and get familiar with the tunes and words of the song. Some infants follow the facial movements and actions which might be accompanying the songs. 

The same is not true when an infant is made to listen to songs from a visual media. As the familiar face of the mother does not exist in the screen, most infants get used to the tunes without associating them socially and interactively. The visual association with the source of sounds and facial and lip movements are essential to create language appreciation in an infant. 

When an infant hears the mother sing, it is often associated with the mother stroking the infant and express emotionally by hugging, holding the baby close to her chest, etc. These multiple sensory and emotional initiatives of the mother make an infant feel attached to the mother. Every time an infant makes gestures of responses it is reciprocated which is how the turn taking process gets initiated in early infant behaviour. 

The bird song is a  language of intimacy.

The mothers's voice is correspondingly a language of intimacy to which an infant is drawn, which is the first step for the infant to develop attachment behaviour. It is this behaviour which helps the infant to feel consoled and comforted, while being with the mother. There is even a speculation that the high pitch tone of a lady's voice is better appreciated by an infant when compared to the low pitched voice of a man. 

I feel that this human interface between a mother and an infant promotes communicative intent in an infant. 

An infant's behaviour of cooing, making turn taking sounds and jargons before sounds which are similar to the sounds of words are produced, is foundational to the language sequences in an infant. For this to happen, the mother is the primary initiator of the communication intent!

The bird songs are mostly for relational development!

Interaction between an infant and his or her parents is also for relational development!

The attachment behaviour which is a social and emotional bonding between an infant and his or her parents is the beginning of all relationships to emerge!

Similarly,  listening attentively and responding warmly create the ambience for adults to feel related to each other at home, work place and in social setting! It is then words become meaningful; speaking brings edification to others, and conversation becomes communication of hearts in acceptance and affirmation!

All of us long to live in the experience where we share the language of heart, with each other which is love, forbearance and mutuality!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)