If songbirds could appear on "The Masked Singer" reality TV competition, zebra finches would likely steal the show. That's because they can rapidly memorize the signature sounds of at least 50 ...

Male zebra finches learn their song by imitating conspecifics. To stand out in the crowd, each male develops its own unique song. Because of this individual-specific song, it was long assumed that ...

Like humans who can instantly tell which friend or relative is calling by the timbre of the person's voice, zebra finches have a near-human capacity for language mapping. If songbirds could appear on ...

William Feeney receives funding from Australian Geographic and the Australian National University. Species must reproduce to survive, and animals have found unique ways of achieving this. For some, ...

Behaviour, Vol. 135, No. 5 (Jul., 1998), pp. 599-614 (16 pages) Social interaction with a song tutor is often found to be important for the song learning process in songbirds, but the mechanism is ...

Male zebra finches learn their song by imitating conspecifics. To stand out in the crowd, each male develops its own unique song. Because of this individual-specific song, it was long assumed that ...

Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery, Vol. 26, No. 2 (JUNE 2012), pp. 76-84 (9 pages) Songbirds have emerged as attractive model systems in many areas of biological research. Notably, songbirds are ...

Asst. Prof. Sarah London has long appreciated zebra finches for their unique learning characteristics. The males learn from another male tutor, but their ability to memorize the tutor’s song is ...

When it’s especially hot out, zebra finches sing a unique “incubation call” to their unhatched young—a song that seems to alter the chicks’ physical development after birth. Receive emails about ...

As midnight nears on New Year’s Eve, and you accept your third glass of prosecco, think of the zebra finch. The prolific creatures, common as pet songbirds around the world, are also popular among ...