Analysis and synthesis of bird vocalizations: An FFT-based software system

An FFT-based software package has been designed and implemented in order to analyze and synthesize bird vocalizations. The system is flexible so that screen editing can be per-formed on either the original waveform or the Fourier coefficients of the transform. The edited coefficients of selected notes, syllables, or songs are stored for later modification or combination with other song components to compose entirely new songs. These analyses and synthesis methods have proved to be extremely useful in the elucidation of birds’ perceptive capabilities and the biological significance of their songs.