City birds are smarter than country birds
"We found that not only were birds from urbanized areas better at innovative problem-solving tasks than bullfinches from rural environments, but that surprisingly urban birds also had a better immunity than rural birds," says Jean-Nicolas Audet, a Ph.D student in the Department of Biology and first author of the study published in the journal Behavioral Ecology.
Birds can change their traditions for the better
Researchers at the University of Konstanz and Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior in Germany have found that birds are able to change their culture to become more efficient. Immigration helps populations shift to more efficient behaviors.
Cultural evolution changes bird song
30 years of Savannah sparrows recordings, the birds are singing distinctly different songs today than their ancestors did 30 years ago -- changes passed along generation to generation, according to a study by University of Guelph researchers.
Birdsong is not all about sexual selection
The question is how females apparently repeatedly lost their song in the course of evolution. Why did they stop singing in some lineages, but not in others? And did the pronounced brain sex differences arise each time the females lost their song? Does this mean that the exceptional adaptations for singing and vocal learning in the bird brain and the underlying neural and molecular networks can easily be switched off?
Baby birds tune in from egg
Using non-invasive techniques, a study found evidence of prenatal auditory learning in embryos of three vocal learning species (Superb fairy-wren, red-winged fairy-wren and Darwin's small ground finch) and two vocal non-learning species (little penguin and Japanese quail).
Role of dopamine in songbird's brain plasticity
Dr. Remage-Healey's research has shown that in the auditory brain of songbirds of both sexes, neurons produce estrogen in social situations, like when listening to birdsong or seeing another bird. We think that dopamine and estrogens might be working together in the sound learning process.
Urban traffic noise causes song learning deficits in birds
Traffic noise leads to inaccuracies and delays in the development of song learning in young birds. They also suffer from a suppressed immune system, which is an indicator of chronic stress. A new study shows that young zebra finches, just like children, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of noise because of its potential to interfere with learning at a critical developmental stage.
Noise and light can 'profoundly' alter bird reproduction
By analyzing nesting data from across the contiguous US, the authors found widespread impacts of noise and light pollution on bird nesting habits and success. Birds that live in forests were most sensitive to noise pollution, as were those with low frequency songs. Sensitivity to light pollution was strongly linked to variation in low light vision. The results reveal traits and contexts indicative of sensitivities to these stimuli that can be used for conservation planning.
Sensory danger zones: How sensory pollution impacts animal survival
In their study, the authors give an example of New York City's annual 9/11 memorial tribute. The tribute coincides with birds' annual migration from northern regions to wintering grounds in Latin America. Because birds use "celestial cues" during their migration, the 44 spotlights that form two pillars of light can attract up to 15,000 birds in a single night.
Songbirds, like people, sing better after warming up
Researchers say there may be a good reason why birds are most vocal at first light. By singing early and often, birds perform better during the day.
Mockingbirds follow similar musical rules as those found in human music
David Rothenberg explains in a YouTube video
the Tuvan throat singing group Huun-Huur-Tu presents examples of timbre change, and pitch change can be heard in the famous opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony; the song "Show Yourself" from the Disney film Frozen 2 itself shows the stretching of sound transitions; and if you listen very closely to Kendrick Lamar's song "Duckworth" from the album Damn, you'll hear transitions being squeezed, or shortened.
LOL
"We found that not only were birds from urbanized areas better at innovative problem-solving tasks than bullfinches from rural environments, but that surprisingly urban birds also had a better immunity than rural birds," says Jean-Nicolas Audet, a Ph.D student in the Department of Biology and first author of the study published in the journal Behavioral Ecology.
Birds can change their traditions for the better
Researchers at the University of Konstanz and Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior in Germany have found that birds are able to change their culture to become more efficient. Immigration helps populations shift to more efficient behaviors.
Cultural evolution changes bird song
30 years of Savannah sparrows recordings, the birds are singing distinctly different songs today than their ancestors did 30 years ago -- changes passed along generation to generation, according to a study by University of Guelph researchers.
Birdsong is not all about sexual selection
The question is how females apparently repeatedly lost their song in the course of evolution. Why did they stop singing in some lineages, but not in others? And did the pronounced brain sex differences arise each time the females lost their song? Does this mean that the exceptional adaptations for singing and vocal learning in the bird brain and the underlying neural and molecular networks can easily be switched off?
Baby birds tune in from egg
Using non-invasive techniques, a study found evidence of prenatal auditory learning in embryos of three vocal learning species (Superb fairy-wren, red-winged fairy-wren and Darwin's small ground finch) and two vocal non-learning species (little penguin and Japanese quail).
Role of dopamine in songbird's brain plasticity
Dr. Remage-Healey's research has shown that in the auditory brain of songbirds of both sexes, neurons produce estrogen in social situations, like when listening to birdsong or seeing another bird. We think that dopamine and estrogens might be working together in the sound learning process.
Urban traffic noise causes song learning deficits in birds
Traffic noise leads to inaccuracies and delays in the development of song learning in young birds. They also suffer from a suppressed immune system, which is an indicator of chronic stress. A new study shows that young zebra finches, just like children, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of noise because of its potential to interfere with learning at a critical developmental stage.
Noise and light can 'profoundly' alter bird reproduction
By analyzing nesting data from across the contiguous US, the authors found widespread impacts of noise and light pollution on bird nesting habits and success. Birds that live in forests were most sensitive to noise pollution, as were those with low frequency songs. Sensitivity to light pollution was strongly linked to variation in low light vision. The results reveal traits and contexts indicative of sensitivities to these stimuli that can be used for conservation planning.
Sensory danger zones: How sensory pollution impacts animal survival
In their study, the authors give an example of New York City's annual 9/11 memorial tribute. The tribute coincides with birds' annual migration from northern regions to wintering grounds in Latin America. Because birds use "celestial cues" during their migration, the 44 spotlights that form two pillars of light can attract up to 15,000 birds in a single night.
Songbirds, like people, sing better after warming up
Researchers say there may be a good reason why birds are most vocal at first light. By singing early and often, birds perform better during the day.
Mockingbirds follow similar musical rules as those found in human music
David Rothenberg explains in a YouTube video
LOL
