Send message to Author

Paper short abstract

This paper explores how bird calls shape urban storytelling, layering memory, emotion and place, and contributing to the evolving narratives of city life through sound and imagination.

Paper long abstract

Urban environments are often framed as spaces of human design and noise, yet they are alive with nonhuman voices that contribute to the city’s narrative fabric. Bird calls, piercing pavements and echoing between buildings, provide a sonic counterpoint to concrete and steel, offering moments of reflection, memory, and affective engagement.

This paper examines how urban birdsong functions as a narrative thread within city life, shaping the way people perceive and remember urban spaces. Through ethnographic observations, soundwalks, and folklore accounts, I explore how the songs of birds become woven into personal and collective stories, influencing emotional and imaginative experiences of the city. Bird calls mark time, punctuate daily routines, and anchor memories, creating a dynamic interplay between natural sound and human narrative.

By focusing on the audible presence of birds in urban storytelling, this study illuminates how nonhuman voices participate in folklore and memory-making, contributing to broader understandings of how urban nature mediates imagination, place, and emotion. It considers how soundscapes, like visual traces of nature, shape the evolving narrative of city life, adding depth and resonance to human experience in urban environments.