Music to the Ears
In honor of the Eurovision Song Contest, let’s get to know some of nature’s singers. How do birds learn to sing? How does a whale sing? And can a fish serenade his love?
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Select the correct answer: Birds use their song to:
All of the above.
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Protect their territory.
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Attract a mate.
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Form social bonds.
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Which of the following is not correct:
Songbirds who inhabit the same area use the same song pattern even if they are from different species.
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It is sometimes possible to tell different species of birds by their song pattern.
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Each songbird species has a characteristic song pattern.
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The song pattern of song birds does not change over their lifetime.
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Select the correct answer, The ability to sing according to a specific song pattern is the result of:
Practice.
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Natural selection.
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All of the above.
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Hearing and recalling.
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Instinct (a trait the bird is born with).
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The expression of unique genes.
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Let’s consider parrots’ ability to mimic: Studies have found that in parrots, mimicry is an important social tool. It enables the parrot to communicate effectively with others of its species and flock, thus improving its social status.
Apart from being a particularly smart bird, the African Gray, also known as Jacko, is the best mimic among parrots, and is also one of the smartest birds in the wild.
In this link, https://bit.ly/2tTDWjl you can listen to the songs of a variety of birds who live close to rivers (click on their photo to hear them).
How Do Birds Learn to Sing? An interactive video
Play VideoActivity Overview
Students will learn about birdsong in the video, through song patterns characteristic of different songbird species. The video examines at the role of singing in the birds’ lives and the factors that influence their ability to learn song patterns, using additional examples from the animal world of genetically embedded behaviors, such as migration. The video is recommended as an enrichment for topics on adaptation and interaction. There are three multiple choice questions in the video, which can be answered on the basis of the video itself, as well as two ‘Did you know?’ interactions.
Mockingbird, song bird, species, Zebra finch, male, chick, sensory learning, motor learning, Brain, instinct, genome, evolution, genetic code, traits, behavior, genomics, proteins, axons, migration, monarch butterfly, salmon
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