This is super interesting! I live in SF and recently have started getting regular visits from the local wild parrots - they stop by for snacks and rest almost every day.<p>I’ve been paying very close attention to their chatter (it’s hard not to lol) and I totally see TFA playing out. They are constantly listening and reacting not only to other members of the flock in the area, but also to crows and others birds’ calls.<p>It’s super fascinating to watch - they’ll all be napping or eating and will immediately stop what they’re doing on a second’s notice and all turn outward. Sometimes it’ll be from another parrot’s call, sometime from a crow’s, and sometimes I can’t tell what made them react (ha). They’ll also fly away en masse I’m equally short notice - all in sync.<p>When you start to pay attention, you realize that even in a densely urban place like San Francisco, the city is totally alive with various bird calls and chatter, and the birds are fully attuned to it all.
I live across from an apple orchard, which is full of bird species getting along - or sometimes not. Pheasants, particularly, are really good at alerting us all to what's going on - so many times I've heard that horrendous squawk alter resonance ever so slightly, looked up, and noticed a marten making its rounds along the tree line .. everything gone quiet.<p>Then, along the same tree line, we'll often hear the birds get super chattery and obnoxious, and .. sure enough a few seconds later, along comes a red squirrel leaping from branch to branch, getting ever more miffed that its cover is blown.<p>Still, nothing quite beats the pheasants. They are truly the watchdogs of the neighbourhood. We've come to listen closely to their calls in spring and summer - its a drama playing right outside our window.