The question Who cooks for you? doesn’t come up terribly often in natural conversation—unless you’re a birder, that is. Those familiar with the soundscapes of eastern forests or lowland swamps know the phrase has nothing to do with dinner: It’s common shorthand for the percussive hoots that emanate from the Barred Owl, one entry in a rich, cross-cultural tradition of human voices trying to mimic avian sounds. For generations, people have used their own languages to catalog the chirps and trills emanating around them. Many of these imitations have become iconic elements of a bird’s persona; it’s hard to separate crows from their caw, or chickens from their cock-a-doodle-doo. And, beyond onomatopoeia, birders have found pairing calls with mnemonic phrases can help sort an Eastern Towhee (drink your tea!) from a White-throated Sparrow (old Sam Peabody!). In recent decades, researchers from ornithology to folklore have become more interested in the history and cultural...