The early bird hears the….

Do birds have mental jukeboxes? Do they hear the tune repeatedly in their heads when they’re not singing it? We can’t ask them, but the human analogy is awfully tempting.

The repeated tunes in my head are a lot like birdsong in length and pattern. Relatively short pieces, ranging from four notes to one stanza. Each tune tends to degenerate and vary over time.

People who hum or whistle their jukebox tunes are doing the bird thing without noticing it.