20 bird species can understand each other's anti-cuckoo call
10 hours ago
- #evolution of language
- #animal communication
- #bird behavior
- Over 20 bird species globally use a 'whining' alarm call to warn of brood parasites like cuckoos.
- The alarm call is understood across species, suggesting a possible origin of language.
- Cuckoos and other brood parasites lay eggs in other birds' nests, tricking hosts into raising their young.
- Species from different continents use similar alarm calls when spotting brood parasites.
- The call prompts birds to mob the intruder, protecting their nests.
- Experiments showed foreign alarm calls elicit the same mobbing response as local calls.
- Birds in areas without brood parasites respond differently to the alarm calls.
- The findings suggest an innate response to certain alarm calls, adapted to local threats.
- Charles Darwin theorized that language may have originated from modified instinctive sounds.
- Animal communication and human language may exist on a continuum, with calls akin to words.