If the rumble of trucks, honk of car horns and bustle of the roads leaves you irritable, you are not alone – researchers say the sound of traffic can leave birds in a rage, too.

Researchers have found male Galápagos yellow warblers that live near busy roads on the islands behave more aggressively when they hear songs from another male if they occur in the presence of traffic sounds.

The researchers say the findings might be down to the birds realising that their own songs, which act as a warning towards intruders to their territory, could be masked by the sound of the traffic.

“Communication usually is in lieu of physical aggression but, if the communication is not possible because of noise, then they might actually engage in risky behaviours that would lead to a physical fight,” said Dr Çağlar Akçay, a co-author of the research from Anglia Ruskin University.

Writing in the journal Animal Behaviour, the team reported how they studied the behaviour of 38 males on two islands in the Galápagos. While 20 of the birds lived near roads, 18 nested away from traffic.

Within the territory of each male, the team played two recorded soundtracks on different days. One soundtrack only featured the song of another male Galápagos yellow warbler, while the other additionally featured traffic sounds.

The team found males that lived near busy roads behaved more aggressively in the latter case, approaching and flying around the speaker in search of the intruder. Akçay said that while one possibility was that they got closer to make themselves heard, not all males sang as they approached – suggesting they were ready for a dust-up.

“If there was an actual bird instead of a speaker, that would mean … a challenge, essentially, and that could result in a physical fight,” he said.

By contrast, males that lived away from roads showed less aggression when traffic noises were present – possibly, the team suggests, because they were scared by the unfamiliar sound.

The scientists said males living on the more densely populated Santa Cruz Island sang for longer when traffic sounds were present, while the reverse was true for those on the more sparsely populated Floreana Island.

However, across the board, males slightly increased the minimum frequencies of their songs when traffic sounds were played – possibly to make it easier for others to hear them. And, while an increase in peak frequency was only seen in males that lived away from traffic, the team suggests that could be because the birds that lived near roads were already singing at the optimum peak frequency.

Akçay said it was possible birds that were better able to deal with traffic noise settled near roads but, alternatively, it could be that birds adapt as a result of living near traffic.

And, because there are very few people on Floreana, that raises another point.

“Even that little experience [of traffic], apparently, has some effect,” he said. “We have to think about noise pollution even in places like Galápagos, I think, and the impact of noise pollution on the unique species there.”