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Article: Tuning in to songbirds and their songs.
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- March 21, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1987 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Tuning in to songbirds and their songs
Next to humans, songbirds have perhapsthe most varied language repertoire of any animal. Recent studies of their brains and behavior are revealing singing secrets that may help scientists understand how birds--and humans--learn and use the melodies they make.
In the last decade, scientists havelinked the size of certain regions of a bird's brain with its ability to sing. For example, one brain region in male canaries appears to grow during breeding season, when songs are used to attract mates and stake out territories from other males.
Recently, Sarah W. Bottjer at the Universityof Southern California in ...