Their first vocalizations help young zebra finch males to memorize the songs of adults. When babies learn to talk or birds learn to sing, the same principle applies: listen and then imitate. This is ...

When most of us hear birds chirping, we may assume it’s just simple background noise. However, a new study from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that at least one small songbird is ...

During practice, the bird is just trying to learn. During performance, the stakes are much higher, because the zebra finch's song functions as a courtship ritual. Zebra finches mate for lengthy ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- In his home office in Durham, Duke neuroscientist Richard Mooney shows a series of images of a bird’s brain on song. In one, what looks like a pointillist painting illustrates a young ...

The babbling of zebra finches creates connections in the brain that enable them to memorize the song of their tutor. The picture shows a zebra finch chick (2nd from left) between a female (left) and a ...