Congrats!

This challenges the idea that bird calls are rigid and unchangeable. It also opens new avenues for studying vocal control in animals. Want to dive into the details? Read the full paper here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 📖🔬

So, zebra finches not only learned to use their calls for a new purpose but also modulated them based on the context. This suggests vocal flexibility thought to be exclusive to songs!

We analyzed the calls and found significant differences! 🧐 Distance calls aimed at other birds (aDCs) were louder and had more harmonic structure than calls used to get food (gDCs).

But do these calls change depending on context? 🎧 Listen to this audio: Can you hear the difference between distance calls used for food vs. those used to communicate with other birds? 🤔

Here’s a bird who learned this very well! In this video, you can see a male zebra finch using its distance call to request food. Clearly, they learned the association!

We trained food-restricted zebra finches to use their distance call to get food. 🍴 Using a closed-loop system, the birds learned that calling triggered a feeder. 9 out of 10 birds successfully learned!

Zebra finches use distance calls to maintain contact when visually separated. These calls are louder and longer than other calls, helping birds stay connected over distances. But are they fixed in meaning or can they be adapted? 🤔