There are debunkers around in every sphere of life and usually plenty for them to debunk. Then there are those who debunk the debunkers. In the question of birdsong I associate with the latter. There have been some very sentimental things written about birdsong, often beautifully and lyrically expressed with the accent on extreme romanticism. Some of it tips over into anthropomorphism to a near derisory extent.
No surprise then that a reaction against this set in leading to certain observers dismissing the expressive qualities some claimed to detect in birdsong as so much mushy nonsense. To the new thinking bird song was all about territory and aggression and that was an end of it.
The alternative view comes more from seeing the way that artistic expression reflects essential qualities in human behaviour and the competitive elements that have always been implicit in our music literature and visual arts. Once anyone proclaims himself, as a poet or musician does, assertiveness and creativity go together.
There is something in the creative process that is saying the artist has belief in his own ability to outdo others. This is not far from the assertiveness and competitiveness of two blackbirds singing from neighbouring rooftops.
In this case the warblers were close to the main road so maybe competing with other noise in addition to normal rivalry. They were still deafening.
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