Bird vocalization

![Wing feathers of a male club-winged manakin, with the modifications noted by P. L. Sclater in 1860[1] and discussed by Charles Darwin in 1871[2]](/Images/godic/202501/04/PipraWing1658.jpg")
![Timeline for song learning in different species. Diagram adapted from Brainard & Doupe, 2002.[46]](/Images/godic/202501/04/Bird_song_development_timeline.svg1658.png")

Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, (relatively complex) songs are distinguished by function from (relatively simple) calls.