[Tweeters] "The Autumnal Recrudescence of the Amatory Urge"

[Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters]

Hello Tweeters,

I was just reciting Stiles’s phrase this very morning, watching two Northern Flickers dance around the trunk and along the branches of one of our big Doug Firs! Love this season.

I believe the original version of the phrase came from a 1920 Auk article by Charles Townsend, here<https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/4073266.pdf>, in which he refers to “autumnal recrudescence of the amatory instinct”:

The song of courtship produced by the vocal organs of the bird varies from the rasping, vibrating note of the Golden-eye or the aa-ou of the Eider, emitted at the height of the dance and display, the harsh scream of the Kingbird or the tis-ik of the Henslow' Sparrow to the clear, plantive, whistle of the White- throated Sparrow, and the serene, spiritual hymn of the Hermit Thrush. While the simpler, more primitive songs are given forth only during courtship excitement, it is evident that many, especially the more complicated and aesthetic ones, although at their best and sometimes elaborated or extended under courtship excitement, are often continued and repeated for the mere enjoyment of the performer in his own music. The autumnal recrudescence of the amatory instinct, often displayed in song, is well known.

(As always, I’d welcome correction if an earlier version is out there.)

Good autumnal excitement (in whatever form) to you all,
Trileigh


Trileigh Tucker
Pelly Valley, West Seattle
NaturalPresenceArts.com<http://naturalpresencearts.com/>
tri at seattleu <dot> edu



From: Elaine Chuang via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Thursday, September 25, 2025 at 5:14 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Tweeters] "The Autumnal Recrudescence of the Amatory Urge"
Wait, did that Anna's male just do a "J" dive display?! Have you been hearing bird song or observing somewhat unseasonal behavior lately? We have begun to enjoy the annual avian phenomenon that's based upon partial reactivation of breeding behavior. Whether triggered by the effects of changing light levels on birdy hormones (the prevailing explanation), or other factors, the shift has poetically become known as, "The Autumnal Recrudescence of the Amatory Urge." Please honor Susan Stiles, who gave us this lovely bit of verse (plus thanks to Dennis Paulson and Teri Martine):

"The Autumnal Recrudescence of the Amatory Urge" - by Susan Stiles (December 1973)

When the birds are cacaphonic in the trees and on the verge
Of the fields in mid-October when the cold is like a scourge.
It is not delight in winter that makes feathered voices surge,
But autumnal recrudescence of the amatory urge.

When the frost is on the punkin' and when leaf and branch diverge,
Birds with hormones reawakened sing a paean, not a dirge.
What's the reason for their warbling? Why on earth this late-year splurge?
The autumnal recrudescence of the amatory urge.

In my humble opinion, the scientifically best and yet 'readable' article (2016) on the general topic, is by the wonderful "GrrlScientist" (https://about.me/grrlscientist): "Why do songbirds sing in autumn?"
  https://medium.com/@GrrlScientist/why-do-songbirds-sing-in-the-autumn-grrlscientist-2017eeec7e03


Elaine Chuang
Seattle
  elc at uw dot edu


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