Date

Wednesday, April 18, 2007; NOTE: Special Date!

Speaker

Location

Parking:
On site and free.

Time

Cost

Title

Nature's Musicians: An Introduction to Bird Songs

Topics

Birds have a variety of calls and songs in their repertoires, each with different functions. The vocal organ and the mechanics of sound production in birds differ from those of humans, and birds have the ability to sing two tones at once. At the same time, similarities exist between birds and humans in how our vocal abilities develop early in life. Special brain circuitry underlies vocal learning and production in songbirds. Although each species is predisposed to learn certain song types, learning occurs by a process of memorization and auditory feedback during a sensitive period. This presentation will provide an overview of these fascinating aspects of bird song.

About the Speaker

Jill Soha is curator and research associate at the Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics at The Ohio State University, which is the second largest public archive of animal sound recordings in the US. She has a PhD in Animal Behavior from UC Davis and does research on song learning and recognition in songbirds.