Pishing in Spring: Birdsong for Connection and Resilience
- Laura A. Weber
- Apr 16
- 2 min read
"Psh-psh-psh!" Spring signals the official welcoming of Birdsong back into our soundscape. Birders can often be discovered imitating the house wren to attract songbirds, as long as they're not disrupting mating or foraging. Male and female birds vocalize and sing for many reasons, not the least is to give warning or to command attention. "Pishing" is that distinctive sound, a rapid-fire "pish-pish-pish" or a long, sputtering "pshh" sound that sentinels make to indicate a "happening," like a small threat or unknown potential predator might be around, like an owl or cat is in the area. It says, "Come together and pay attention!" North American birds will mob at the sound: wrens, robins, cardinals, chickadees, warblers, vireos, nuthatches, and sparrows, among others. Pishing is quite an art among birders, if you fly in those circles.
What can we learn from the way birds pay attention when a perceived danger threatens the whole? They flock to the sound of psh-psh-psh and pay attention, gathering the energy of the collective.
What if humans had a similar pishing system that indicated potential threats to the integrity of our collective soul, and taught us to listen and be still, without immediately launching an attack?
What if we could indicate through posture and breath that we need to come together and pay attention, gather our energy? What if we tried slow and silent, instead of loud and brash?
We all know about tornado sirens indicating approaching severe weather, or train whistles warning about a locomotive bearing down. We have foghorns and air horns to signal danger, loud speakers and alarm indicators for emergencies, and trumpets calling military to attention. These signals are generally loud and overbearing. Aren't we tired of t.v. pharmaceutical ads blasting us with messages about how decrepit and (potentially or actually) ill we are, with warning after warning of side effects on top of disclaimers to persuade us to tell our doctor about X, Y, or Z new drug?
What happened to the still, small whisper that gets our attention every time?
If humanity had a pishing system for dangers to our collective psyche/soul, it wouldn't have to sound like blaring bass speakers, or elevated-volume threats from bullies, announcing to all the world that we can make trouble and cause suffering for perceived threats/enemies. It wouldn't have to be despotic tyrants screaming in ALL CAPS over social media. It could be subtle, soulful, gentle.
A pishing system for human psychological/emotional/spiritual health might sound like, "Shh." "Hush." "Breathe." A whisper of calm or comfort. A telltale arm-catch for someone who is in danger of falling or collision, a hand-squeeze or a hug for someone undergoing chemo or recovering from injury, dealing with stress, anxiety, or depression, or otherwise stepping into harm's way. It might be a random act of kindness in the midst of a crisis. A human pishing system might be just opening our arms, holding out our hands, bowing deeply, holding tightly, or listening with rapt attention to another's fear, pain, or confusion. Shh. Shh. Shh.
It's Springtime in the Midwest. What can we learn from the birds? Listen up! Gather in and pay attention: Psh-Psh-Psh!
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