By now, it’s no secret that the phrase “bird brain” should be a compliment, not an insult. Some of our feathered friends are capable of complex cognitive tasks, including tool use (SN: 2/10/23). Among the brainiest feats that birds are capable of is vocal learning, or the ability to learn to mimic sounds and use them to communicate. In birds, this leads to beautiful calls and songs; in humans, it leads to language.
Now, a massive analysis of 214 birds from 23 species shows that there is indeed a link between vocal learning and at least one advanced cognitive ability — problem-solving. The study, described in the Sept. 15 Science, is the first to analyze multiple bird species instead of just one.
To compare species, biologist Jean-Nicolas Audet of the Rockefeller University in New York City and colleagues had to devise a way to assess all the birds’ vocal learning and cognitive abilities.
For vocal learning, the team scoured the scientific literature to find how many songs and calls a particular species could learn, whether it could learn vocalizations throughout its life or just for a set developmental period and whether it could mimic other bird species. “Our novel way of measuring vocal complexity integrates those three features together,” Audet says.
2023-09-14 13:00:00
Article from www.sciencenews.org
