“Mama, what’s he saying?” My six-year-old daughter asked, her face alight with curiosity.
Wrinkling my brow, I surveyed the yard. There was no one there.
The flutter in my stomach turned into a knot. “Who?” I asked cautiously.
“Him. That guy,” she said, still pounding an acorn with a stone, her eyes focused on something I couldn’t see.
As my unease grew, I stood and checked the driveway, peered around the corner of the house, and scanned the yard. Nothing. Returning to her, I asked gently, “Who are you hearing?” She stopped, looked up at me with the exasperation only a six-year-old can muster, and said, “That guy! Listen!”
I closed my eyes, trying to tune in. At first, all I heard was distant traffic, a leaf blower, and the occasional bark of a neighbor’s dog. Then, cutting through the din, I heard it: a sharp, rhythmic cheep, cheep, cheep. Relief washed over me as I realized she wasn’t hearing imaginary voices.
“Oh, now I hear him,” I said, exhaling with gratitude.
She demanded, “So, what’s he saying?”
This simple question held profound significance. The bird—a California Towhee—was sounding an alarm, its high-pitched call a rhythmic warning.
My daughter had instinctively attuned to its nuance. But how? And why does it matter?
Hearing Is Passive, Listening Is Active
A child’s neurological system thrives on a multi-sensory-motor, contextual diet of experience. Each sound they hear interacts with a web of sensory inputs—sight, touch, smell, taste, and movement. These signals work together to establish a neurological baseline of understanding and regulation, called allostasis (see blog # for more).
Here’s how it works:
📢 When a sound enters the auditory system, it’s like a car entering a roundabout.
✳️ The brain decides whether to keep the sound for further exploration or throw it away as irrelevant.
✳️ If kept, the sound must be explored repeatedly, allowing the brain to determine its meaning, function, and usefulness.
This process—sorting, filing, exploring, and integrating—creates a coherent neurological picture of the world. Listening, not just hearing, is what turns sound into meaning. Hearing is passive but listening is an active process.
Bird language is a tangible representation of how complex and layered this process is. The many voices of bird language reflect the auditory processing system’s incredible capabilities, honed over millions of years to ensure human survival.
Bird Language: Nature’s Survival Code
Birds are nature’s storytellers. They broadcast information about the world around us—locations of water, predators, food sources, and even weather changes. In What the Robin Knows, Jon Young writes:
“The types of birds seen or heard, their numbers and behaviors and vocalizations, will reveal the locations of running water or still water, dead trees, ripe fruit, a carcass, predators, fish runs, insect hatches, and so much more.”
For our ancestors, tuning into bird language was a matter of life and death. This skill shaped the evolution of our auditory systems, teaching us to listen, discern, and respond. While modern life has distanced us from these practices, the neurological systems developed by our ancestors remain in place, waiting — and needing — to be activated.
How Nature Supports Development
Nature offers children the sensory stimuli they need to develop their neurological systems in a holistic, contextual way. Here’s how:
1. Multi-Sensory Engagement
Nature doesn’t isolate senses — it integrates them. When a child hears a bird’s call, they also see its movement, feel the breeze, and smell the earth. This layered experience helps the brain file and organize sensory information, building a strong foundation for focus, regulation, and learning.
2. Active Listening Practice
When children engage with bird language, they practice active listening. They learn to focus amid background noise, interpret sound patterns, and assign meaning to sounds. These skills transfer to other areas, like paying attention in class, following conversations and reading.
3. Emotional Regulation
Listening to bird calls doesn’t just engage the brain — it calms it. Studies show that natural sounds, particularly birdsong, reduce stress and anxiety, helping children regulate their emotions more effectively.
Why Bird Language Matters
My daughter’s question — “What’s he saying?”— was more than curiosity. It was her neurological system seeking to make sense of the world. Answering her question wasn’t just about satisfying her — it was about supporting her development.
When a child identifies a bird’s call as an alarm, they’re engaging a survival system as old as humanity. They’re practicing the same skills that kept our ancestors alive, wiring their brains for attention, focus, and regulation. It’s a superhighway for healthy development!
How to Support This Development
When a child tunes into the natural world, they’re engaging in a process essential for their growth.
Here’s how we can support them:
- Encourage Curiosity: When a child asks, “What’s he saying?” respond with, “I don’t know—let’s find out!” This invites exploration and reinforces their natural drive to learn.
- Spend Time in Nature: Create opportunities for curiosity-driven outdoor play where children can interact with natural sounds and sights.
- Model Listening: Show children how to listen deeply, pointing out sounds and collaboratively discovering their meanings.
- Integrate the Senses: Help children connect what they hear with what they see, smell, and feel, creating a richer understanding, and integration, of their environment.
Why This Matters
The ability to tune into nature and process sensory information isn’t just a relic of the past—it’s a necessity for the present. Our children’s neurological systems are still wired for survival, designed to make sense of the world through active, multi-sensory engagement.
By fostering a connection to nature and its rhythms, we help children build the skills they need to thrive in a complex, and incredibly noisy world.
So the next time you step outside, stop and listen. What’s that bird saying? And how might answering that question help the child next to you grow into their fullest potential?
Because when we tune into nature, we’re not just surviving
—we’re thriving.
Bolhuis, J. J., & Everaert, M. (Eds.). (2013). Birdsong, speech, and language: Exploring the evolution of mind and brain. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262018609.001.0001
Jarvis, E. D. (2007). Neural systems for vocal learning in birds and humans: A synopsis. Journal of Ornithology, 148(1), 35-44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-007-0243-0
Kannass, K. N., Oakes, L. M., & Shaddy, D. J. (2006). A longitudinal investigation of the development of attention and distractibility. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 93(4), 296–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2005.08.001
Becker, D. R., McClelland, M. M., Loprinzi, P., & Trost, S. G. (2014). Physical activity, self-regulation, and early academic achievement in preschool children. Early Education and Development, 25(1), 56–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2013.780505
#block-1737107676368 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737107676368 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 4px; padding: 0px; padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737107676368 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737107676368 .block { padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1737107676368 { text-align: left; } } #block-1577982541036_0 .btn { margin-top: 1rem; } #block-1694872795640 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1694872795640 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 0px; padding: 0px; padding: 0; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1694872795640 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1694872795640 .block { padding: 0; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1694872795640 { text-align: ; } } #block-1694872795640 .block, [data-slick-id="1694872795640"] .block { display: flex; justify-content: flex-start; } #block-1694872795640 .image, [data-slick-id="1694872795640"] .image { width: 100%; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 4px; } #block-1694872795640 .image__image, [data-slick-id="1694872795640"] .image__image { width: 100%; } #block-1694872795640 .image__overlay, [data-slick-id="1694872795640"] .image__overlay { opacity: 0; background-color: #fff; border-radius: 4px; } #block-1694872795640 .image__overlay-text, [data-slick-id="1694872795640"] .image__overlay-text { color: !important; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1694872795640 .block, [data-slick-id="1694872795640"] .block { display: flex; justify-content: flex-start; } #block-1694872795640 .image__overlay, [data-slick-id="1694872795640"] .image__overlay { opacity: 0; } #block-1694872795640 .image__overlay:hover { opacity: 1; } } #block-1737108556095 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737108556095 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 4px; padding: 0px; padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737108556095 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737108556095 .block { padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1737108556095 { text-align: left; } } #block-1577982541036_0 .btn { margin-top: 1rem; } #block-1737192623907 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737192623907 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 0px; padding: 0px; padding: 0; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737192623907 { margin-top: -30px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737192623907 .block { padding: 0; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1737192623907 { text-align: ; } } #block-1737192623907 .block, [data-slick-id="1737192623907"] .block { display: flex; justify-content: flex-start; } #block-1737192623907 .image, [data-slick-id="1737192623907"] .image { width: 100%; overflow: hidden; width: 700px; border-radius: 4px; } #block-1737192623907 .image__image, [data-slick-id="1737192623907"] .image__image { width: 100%; width: 700px; } #block-1737192623907 .image__overlay, [data-slick-id="1737192623907"] .image__overlay { opacity: 0; background-color: #fff; border-radius: 4px; } #block-1737192623907 .image__overlay-text, [data-slick-id="1737192623907"] .image__overlay-text { color: !important; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737192623907 .block, [data-slick-id="1737192623907"] .block { display: flex; justify-content: center; } #block-1737192623907 .image__overlay, [data-slick-id="1737192623907"] .image__overlay { opacity: 0; } #block-1737192623907 .image__overlay:hover { opacity: 1; } } #block-1737110311364 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737110311364 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 4px; padding: 0px; padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737110311364 { margin-top: 30px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737110311364 .block { padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1737110311364 { text-align: left; } } #block-1577982541036_0 .btn { margin-top: 1rem; } #block-1737109989432 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737109989432 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 0px; padding: 0px; padding: 0; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737109989432 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737109989432 .block { padding: 0; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1737109989432 { text-align: ; } } #block-1737109989432 .block, [data-slick-id="1737109989432"] .block { display: flex; justify-content: flex-start; } #block-1737109989432 .image, [data-slick-id="1737109989432"] .image { width: 100%; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 4px; } #block-1737109989432 .image__image, [data-slick-id="1737109989432"] .image__image { width: 100%; } #block-1737109989432 .image__overlay, [data-slick-id="1737109989432"] .image__overlay { opacity: 0; background-color: #fff; border-radius: 4px; } #block-1737109989432 .image__overlay-text, [data-slick-id="1737109989432"] .image__overlay-text { color: !important; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737109989432 .block, [data-slick-id="1737109989432"] .block { display: flex; justify-content: center; } #block-1737109989432 .image__overlay, [data-slick-id="1737109989432"] .image__overlay { opacity: 0; } #block-1737109989432 .image__overlay:hover { opacity: 1; } } #block-1695978871700 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1695978871700 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 4px; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; padding: 0px; padding: 0px; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 15px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1695978871700 { margin-top: 30px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1695978871700 .block { padding: 0px; padding: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1695978871700 { text-align: left; } } #block-1695978871700 .image__image { max-width: 39%; border-radius: 4px; } #block-1695978871700 .image__image { float: left; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px; } #block-1737108892351 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737108892351 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 4px; padding: 0px; padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737108892351 { margin-top: 50px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 40px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737108892351 .block { padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1737108892351 { text-align: left; } } #block-1577982541036_0 .btn { margin-top: 1rem; } #block-1737110819235 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737110819235 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 0px; padding: 0px; padding: 0; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737110819235 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737110819235 .block { padding: 0; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1737110819235 { text-align: ; } } #block-1737110819235 .block, [data-slick-id="1737110819235"] .block { display: flex; justify-content: flex-start; } #block-1737110819235 .image, [data-slick-id="1737110819235"] .image { width: 100%; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 4px; } #block-1737110819235 .image__image, [data-slick-id="1737110819235"] .image__image { width: 100%; } #block-1737110819235 .image__overlay, [data-slick-id="1737110819235"] .image__overlay { opacity: 0; background-color: #fff; border-radius: 4px; } #block-1737110819235 .image__overlay-text, [data-slick-id="1737110819235"] .image__overlay-text { color: !important; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737110819235 .block, [data-slick-id="1737110819235"] .block { display: flex; justify-content: center; } #block-1737110819235 .image__overlay, [data-slick-id="1737110819235"] .image__overlay { opacity: 0; } #block-1737110819235 .image__overlay:hover { opacity: 1; } } #block-1737109001772 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737109001772 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 4px; padding: 0px; padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737109001772 { margin-top: 30px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737109001772 .block { padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1737109001772 { text-align: left; } } #block-1577982541036_0 .btn { margin-top: 1rem; } #block-1737110411650 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737110411650 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 0px; padding: 0px; padding: 0; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737110411650 { margin-top: 50px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737110411650 .block { padding: 0; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1737110411650 { text-align: ; } } #block-1737110411650 .block, [data-slick-id="1737110411650"] .block { display: flex; justify-content: flex-start; } #block-1737110411650 .image, [data-slick-id="1737110411650"] .image { width: 100%; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 4px; } #block-1737110411650 .image__image, [data-slick-id="1737110411650"] .image__image { width: 100%; } #block-1737110411650 .image__overlay, [data-slick-id="1737110411650"] .image__overlay { opacity: 0; background-color: #fff; border-radius: 4px; } #block-1737110411650 .image__overlay-text, [data-slick-id="1737110411650"] .image__overlay-text { color: !important; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737110411650 .block, [data-slick-id="1737110411650"] .block { display: flex; justify-content: center; } #block-1737110411650 .image__overlay, [data-slick-id="1737110411650"] .image__overlay { opacity: 0; } #block-1737110411650 .image__overlay:hover { opacity: 1; } } #block-1694873394061 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1694873394061 .block { border: 2px solid #f4cd2b; border-radius: 26px; padding: 0px; padding: 0px; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 15px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1694873394061 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1694873394061 .block { padding: 0px; padding-top: 25px; padding-right: 25px; padding-bottom: 25px; padding-left: 25px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1694873394061 { text-align: left; } } #block-1577982541036_0 .btn { margin-top: 1rem; } #block-1737208307961 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737208307961 .block { border: 4px black; border-radius: 4px; padding: 0px; padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } @media (min-width: 768px) { #block-1737208307961 { margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; } #block-1737208307961 .block { padding: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } } @media (max-width: 767px) { #block-1737208307961 { text-align: left; } } #block-1577982541036_0 .btn { margin-top: 1rem; } .awesomecontainer { background: ; h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, p, ul, li, .block-type--table table {color: #2b4d32;} padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; } .awesomecontainer .row { -webkit-box-align: flex-start; -ms-flex-align: flex-start; align-items: flex-start; } .awesomecontainer .row .block-type--accordion { align-self: flex-start; }
Stay connected with news and updates!
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.
