Apr 1, 2023
Welcome to The Backyard Naturalists, the show about anything and everything connected with nature.
Birdsong is studied in contrast to other vocalizations that are referred to as calls. The song is the much longer vocalization typically given by the male. Females sing in many species, but not as much as males. It can be very rewarding to determine how complex the vocalizations are.
For about half the species of songbirds in the world they go through a learning process while they're young and in the nest. The learning of the songs is a model for human language learning and there are some really uncanny parallels. Other organisms that also learn their vocalizations include seals and bats and what else?
Birds have a vocal organ called a syrinx rather than a larynx. How does the brain control the muscles in that organ? And the song learners have additional brain regions that deal with learning the song. This discovery has many medical implications.
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While recording the Backyard Naturalists podcast, Debbie and Laurie enjoy coffee provided by the Good Cup Coffee Company in Matthews, North Carolina. Follow Good Cup Coffee on Instagram and look for them at the Matthews Community Farmer’s Market this Saturday morning.