Rose

**__Do Birds prefer silence, or music when at a feeder?__**
Question: Are birds more likely to come to a feeder when there is silence or when //Rockin Robin// is being played?

__**Hypothesis:**__
I believe I will see most birds when there is silence at the bird feeder, however after a while of Rockin Robin being played, they will adapt to the music and eventually start to come to the feeder. I also think that birds will react to seeing other birds feed at the feeder, and that will make them more comfortable visiting and eating food.

__Materials__
Disc of Rockin Robin Feeder Seed Measurer so I can put exactly one cup of seed on feeder. Timer, for when Rockin Robin is not being played.

__Variables:__
Independent variable: When Rockin Robin is or isn't being played. Dependent Variable: How many birds come to the feeder. Controlled: song being played for same amount of time.

__Procedure:__
Every morning for 2 weeks, place the same amount of bird seed (one cup) on a standing feeder in the morning. During first week, play Rockin Robin three times and observe what, if any birds come and remove feeder after song is through playing. The other week, put out the same amount of bird seed, and the same kind for same period of time, ( 7.2 minutes) but without music, and see how many birds come to the feeder. Removed feeder after the allotted amount of time. Record results.

__Background__ **__research:__**
Birds hear a lot of music between one another, and that they are not afraid of. They respond to a lot of music the way humans do, and can find it enjoyable. They often communicate through song to one another during mating season, different calls showing interest in a female bird. However most unknown and unnatural sounds can be startling and scary for birds.

=Experiment Data:=

Day one: (music playing) 7:20 am 10-8-13
Bird visits: 8 Notes: Had birdseed out day before, in order for birds to adapt to feeder. Weather is overcast skies, 60 degrees.

Day two: 7:32 am 10-9-13 bird visits: 0 notes: skies were cloudy, 58 degrees

Day three: 7:20 am 10-10-13 = = Bird visits: 0 Notes: slight overcast, rained last night, 56 degrees.

Day four: 7:27 am 10-11-13 bird visits: 1 Notes: slight overcast, 60 degrees

day five: 7:25 am 10-14-13 bird visits 0 Notes: slight overcast, rained recently, 61 degrees

day six: 7:25 am 10-15-13 bird visits: 0 Notes: overcast, cloudy, misty/ foggy, 52 degrees

day seven: 7:30 am 10-16-13 bird visits: 0 notes: overcast, cloudy, 62 degrees

Day one: music not playing, 7:20 am, food out for 7.2 minutes 10-18-13
bird visits: 4 notes: clear skies, wet ground, 57 degrees, kept window open as to not add a variable

day two: 7:31 am 10-20-13 bird visits: 1 notes: clear skies, 45 degrees

day three: 7:25 am 10-21-13 bird visits: 15 notes, clear skies, dark, 40 degrees

day four: 7:27 am 10-22-13 bird visits: 0 notes: clear skies, wet ground, 50 degrees

day five: 7:30 am 10-23-13 bird visits: 0 notes: had been raining all morning, not raining at moment, 48 degrees

day six: 7:25 am 10-24-13 bird visits: 0 notes: clear skies, light out, 34 degrees

day seven: 7:36 10-25-13 bird sightings: 0 notes: clear skies, wet ground light sky 40 degrees.

Explanation of data:
The day before I started playing Rockin Robin, I had put seed on the feeder just for the birds to get used to the location. I believe this resulted in the eight birds that visited my feeder on day one of Rockin Robin playing. After that day, I did not continue to leave the seed out for the entire day, I also did this with all the following days. I believe this resulted in my not getting as many birds as I may have if I left the seed out all day for everyday of the experiment. When there was no music, I had great results the first few days, but for the last four days I had no visiting birds. I believe this may have had something to do do with it getting darker in the mornings. I tried to do the experiment at approximately the same time every morning, no matter whether it was dark or light outside. The days that it was dark, the birds may have not yet been up.

Conclusion:
My results seem to be inconclusive, and if anything are the opposite of my hypothesis. I believe if I had been able to have the birdseed out for a longer period of time before hand and while the experiment was going on, it would have helped the birds to adapt to the placement of the feeder and know there would be seed there everyday. This may have helped my results to be more conclusive.

__**Bibliography:**__ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/science/birds-found-to-have-emotional-reactions-to-song.html?_r=0
 * January 1, 2013, Headline: Bird found to have emotional reaction to song.**

=="Birds' Brains Respond to Music the Same Way Human Brains Do." //Io9 //. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. ==