One rainy morning a week ago, I hear a beautiful bird song that I cannot quite identify. It’s longish, sweet and melodic. From in the bedroom, I glance over at the feeders and there’s the usual ...

In the sunbaked Galápagos Islands, a male finch perches on a branch, hearing what sounds like another bird’s song. But something’s not quite right. The song is slower and deeper, like a familiar tune ...

To a human ear the songs of all male zebra finches sound more or less the same. But faced with a chorus of this simple song, female finches can pick the performer who sings most beautifully. Zebra ...

Zebra finches don’t just mimic sounds—they understand them, revealing surprising insights into animal communication and ...

In studying animal communication, it’s hard to know whether animals react instinctively to the vocalizations of others or actually understand the meaning. In a recent UC Berkeley study, researchers ...

The beaks of Darwin's medium ground finches can evolve to crush the shells of hard seeds. Credit: Andrew Hendry They say that hindsight is 20/20, and though the theory of ecological speciation—which ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The finches that call Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands home are ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sophisticated birdsong follows strict grammatical rules, much like human sentences. But what happens when birds can’t hear themselves sing? A new international study of ...