a subdued form of birdsong modified from the full territorial song and used by some birds esp in courtship
subsong in American English
(ˈsʌbˌsɔŋ, -ˌsɑŋ)
noun
an unstructured, often rambling vocalization of low volume heard in young birds and, at the start of the breeding season, in adult birds of certain species
Word origin
[sub- + song]sub- is a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from Latin (subject; subtract; subvert; subsidy). On this model, sub- is freely attached to elements of any origin and used with the meaning “under,” “below,”“beneath” (subalpine; substratum), “slightly,” “imperfectly,” “nearly” (subcolumnar; subtropical), “secondary,” “subordinate” (subcommittee; subplot)
Examples of 'subsong' in a sentence
subsong
Listen closely and you can hear the subsong.
The Times Literary Supplement (2015)
One of the rehearsal modes, subsong, is especially beguiling.
The Times Literary Supplement (2017)
The 'subsong' of blackbirds remains an ornithological mystery.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But adult song thrushes will also produce this 'subsong', whose function then remains obscure.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
This was subsong — something that seems to me to demonstrate the genuine musicality of some of our great singers.