Ethical Birdwatching: The Harmful Effects of Playing Recorded Bird Calls

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Ethical Birdwatching: The Harmful Effects of Playing Recorded Bird Calls

It is not a natural call: Stop playing it

Using recorded bird calls for sightings or photography is unethical and harmful, as it disrupts birds’ natural behaviors and causes stress

Gargi Mishra

But playing recorded bird calls or songs on gadgets to lure birds for sighting or photography is both unethical and harmful. To understand what the consequences for this practice might be, let’s first understand bird vocalisation.

Birds use two types of vocalisations: Calls and songs. Calls are generally short and simple, while songs tend to be longer and louder.

Birds call to maintain contact with companions using “contact calls.” Nestlings use “begging calls” to request food. Night-time migrants maintain contact with “flight calls.” “Food calls” attract offspring or flockmates to new food sources. Birds use “alarm calls” to warn others of danger and “mobbing calls” to summon others to harass a predator. “Aggressive calls” help settle conflicts between birds.

Exhaustive, right?

Birds sing “songs,” on the other hand, loudly and persistently to attract mates or repel territorial intruders.

So, when we play a bird call without understanding its type or purpose, simply to attract a specific species, we risk making serious errors. The consequences may be dire. Imagine the stress, confusion, and harm caused by repeatedly playing random bird calls through gadgets!

Consider this: you play a recorded call to attract birds feeding out of sight. Unknown to you, the recording is an alarm call. On hearing it, the flock panics and scatters. They return later, but you play the call again. This continues all day. In doing so, you deprive them of vital feeding time.

How?

Birds are “homeotherms,” like us, organisms that maintain a stable internal body temperature regardless of external conditions. But they have high metabolic rates and must eat frequently. Small birds have especially high energy needs. Interrupting their feeding may push them towards starvation and death.

Playback stops birds from doing what they should — feeding their young, avoiding predators, or defending territory. Such calls can act as distress signals, causing parents to leave the nest to investigate. Prolonged absence or missed feeds can endanger their offspring. Additionally, exposed parent birds become vulnerable to predators. Playback songs can be interpreted as territorial threats and may provoke aggression. This alters birds’ behaviour — parenting, defending, and foraging — depending on perceived threats.

Studies show that recorded songs played during breeding season provoke birds to sing intensively for days. Singing consumes a great deal of energy. If this energy isn’t replenished in time, the bird may die.

Other studies have found birds abandoning their territory when they hear recorded rival vocalisations. André MX Lima and James Joseph Roper documented this in their study, The use of playbacks can influence encounters with birds: An experiment.

Such disruptions are numerous. Foraging, parenting, and territorial defence are just a few daily bird behaviours. By playing recorded calls, we disturb and manipulate these, often causing stress and long-term behavioural damage.

Renowned ornithologist and independent researcher Gurpartap Singh, based in Mohali, Punjab, said, “Playing recorded bird calls to lure birds is generally not desirable, as it can be unethical and potentially harmful, causing stress and disrupting natural behaviours. It can lead to energy loss and negatively affect breeding and social structures, especially if overused. It may be permissible for scientific research, but only with caution and due consideration of the potential harm.”

Playback is illegal under Section 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 as well. However, poor enforcement renders it ineffective. This practice is rampant across birding hotspots in India for sighting and photography. Worse still, hunters and bird-catchers use playback to lure birds for illegal trade, contributing to population decline.

Many conservationists are fighting this. Notably, Sanjay Sondhi — a Dehradun-based naturalist and founder of bioinformatics platform Titli Trust — has partnered with the Uttarakhand Forest Department to run awareness campaigns and sensitise naturalists and guides on the harms of bird call playback. In recognition of their support, the forest department issued appreciation badges to bird guides in Jim Corbett National Park.

After complaints of unethical bird call playback in Deulgaon village (Supe Forest area), a breeding site for Mottled Wood Owls near Pune, the forest department banned photography at the site.