Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. GrrlScientist writes about evolution, ecology, behavior and health. But one thing that Mozart probably never knew about his ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. There’s a massive difference between vocal learning bird species and birds that rely on innate calls. You can teach certain birds ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Orange-crowned Warbler sitting on a branch, singing. Some of these songbirds will collect in “song neighborhoods” made of two to ...

A symphony of synapses fires every time a songbird sings. For Erich Jarvis, a neurobiologist at Rockefeller University, the neural pathways he finds particularly interesting inside a bird’s brain are ...

The European starling boasts a remarkable repertoire. Versatile songbirds that learn warbles, whistles, calls, and songs throughout their lives, starlings rank among the most advanced avian vocal ...

Using histology and ex vivo diffusion MRI tractography (dMRI), Peter Cook and colleagues examined postmortem brains from harbor seals, elephant seals, California sea lions, and coyotes (as a non-vocal ...

Not all pet birds have the physical or cognitive ability to learn songs, and understanding the difference can help owners set realistic expectations. For example, vocal learning species—including ...

Orange-crowned Warbler sitting on a branch, singing. Some of these songbirds will collect in “song neighborhoods” made of two to six males who mimic the songs of each other.© Dee Carpenter ...

The European starling boasts a remarkable repertoire. Versatile songbirds that learn warbles, whistles, calls, and songs throughout their lives, starlings rank among the most advanced avian vocal ...

The better a songbird is at working its way around obstacles to retrieve a snack, the more complex its vocal learning ability will be. The European starling boasts a remarkable repertoire. Versatile ...