Countable/Uncountable Noun

I am not sure there is a "reason" per se, but I imagine that "birdsong" has come to mean the music itself as opposed to the individual "songs" sung by birds. Viewed in this way, the word cannot be pluralised, since it is now felt to be a mass noun referring to the "music of birds".

Hi, MlleSim,

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Although the dictionaries--some of them, at least--did tag birdsong as uncountable, it didn't quite sink in till you explained it.

I wonder why birdcall didn't follow suit and become a mass noun?

@gilbert posted:

Hi, MlleSim,

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Although the dictionaries--some of them, at least--did tag birdsong as uncountable, it didn't quite sink in till you explained it.

I wonder why birdcall didn't follow suit and become a mass noun?

My sincere pleasure, Gilbert.

As for your question, I honestly do not know! Perhaps because "call" has more or less always been used in this construction to refer to the individual cries by birds and never to the "symphony" (or should I say "cacophony") made up of their cries? A birdwatcher or ornithologist would probably provide a more satisfactory answer, though...