Songbirds can sing together "as one"

24 Jun 2021

Songbirds can sing together “as one”

Songbirds can sing together “as one”Songbirds are a type of bird that can "sing songs". They include birds like nightingales and robins. There are about 5000 different songbirds all over the world.

A new study says that the brains of duetting songbirds are linked together during performances. This means when they sing together, they sing "as one". When two birds hear each other sing, even their brains link up and start acting similar.

This particular study focuses on male and female plain-tailed wrens. This is a type of songbird that lives in the Andes mountain region of South America. When the males and females birds sing together, they quickly take turns to sing, and the song sounds as if only one bird is singing.

So, when scientists specifically studied an area of the songbirds' brain known to control singing. They observed that when a bird sings, its brain cells become active in that area. But when the other bird sings, this part becomes quiet.

This means this, they "bounce off" each other when they sing. It's like when humans have conversations - you wait for the other person to speak and after that, you reply. This is a kind of cooperation, which as it turns out, birds have too.

Scientists say this kind of study can help us build better robots, which can "cooperate" with humans.

Curious Times is committed to providing the best experience and news to children. We bring to you the Curious Times Weekly with the top news of the week. You can also check out The Curious Magazine, written by children, for children.

We would also love for you, dear children, to write and get your stories, art, thoughts and more published at My Expressions.

Feel free to write to us at hello@curioustimes.in. You can also follow us on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Youtube, Twitter, LinkedIn.

Recommended for Middle Grades

Songbirds are a type of bird that can “sing songs”. They include birds like nightingales and robins. There are about 5000 different songbirds all over […]

To read more...

Share your comment! Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

To post your comment Login/Signup