"[T]he slowdown of human activity... has become known as the 'anthropause.' Some species clearly benefited from our absence..."

"... [Christopher Wilmers, a wildlife ecologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz] speculated that the mountain lions were responding to changes in the urban soundscape, which might typically be filled with human chatter and the rumble of passing cars. 'But as soon as those audio stimuli are gone, then the animals are, like, "Well, might as well go see if there’s anything to eat here,"' he said. Just north, in a newly hushed San Francisco, white-crowned sparrows began singing more quietly, yet the distance across which they could communicate 'more than doubled,' researchers found. The birds also began singing at lower frequencies, a shift that is associated with better performance — and an improved ability to defend territory and woo mates. 'Their songs were much more "sexy,'" said Elizabeth Derryberry, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and an author of the study. 'And it was overnight,' she added. 'Which kind of gives you hope that if you reduce noise levels in an area, you can have immediate positive impact.'" 

From "Did Nature Heal During the Pandemic ‘Anthropause’? Covid precautions created a global slowdown in human activity — and an opportunity to learn more about the complex ways we affect other species" (NYT).

Slow down — anthropause — and the birds will sing a sexier song.

I looked — just a little — for some information on the sexiness of birdsong. How would you know the effect on the nervous system of another bird? I did find this: "After some 20 years of theorizing, a scientist is publicly renouncing the 'beautiful hypothesis' that male birds’ sexy songs could indicate the quality of their brains."

Do you know when the bird's song is sexy? Do you know when the human's idea is beautiful?