Researchers Investigate the Natural Time-Keeping Ability of Songbirds

According to recent research led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, an unassuming species of songbird is on par with professional musicians when it comes to timing.

The study is the first to test an animal's natural capacity for timekeeping outside of a laboratory setting.

Time Keeping Ability of Songbirds

(Photo : Joshua J. Cotten/Unsplash)

The scaly-breasted wren is a little brown bird in Central and South America recognized for its whistle-like chirps.

Compared to animals and birds raised in confinement, wild birds' songs showed a stronger ability to keep time, as per ScienceDaily

According to lead author Carlos Antonio Rodriguez-Saltos, the findings showed how crucial it is to research animals in both the laboratory and in their natural habitats to fully understand their capabilities.

Saltos, a postdoctoral researcher at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences who conducted the study, said that they should use the potential of biodiversity to understand these things while we still can.

Animal Behaviour published the findings.

Songbirds' Chirping Pattern

The report was co-authored by Julia Clarke, a professor at Jackson School.

There are no songbooks for birds. However, certain species chirp notes in a recognizable sequence, making them sound alike.

The chirping pattern of the Scaly-breasted wren is as follows: an initial burst of chirps is followed by alternate intervals of chirps and pauses, with the pauses between each chirp increasing progressively longer.

Predictably, the intervals between each chirp grow longer, increasing by around a half second each time.

The birds then restart their song from the top after a delay of around 10 seconds.

Most laboratory animals, like humans, have trouble estimating how much time has gone after just a few seconds.

Animals are often worse at calculating the passage of time the longer the delay.

But for the wild wrens, 10 out of the 23 songs that satisfied the criteria for evaluation, or 43% of the songs, constantly retained time throughout the song, with the intervals maintaining the predetermined pattern even as the pauses grew longer.

Also Read: Songbirds Can Sing Like Humans With Complex Vocal Cords

What are Songbirds?

Any member of the Passeri (or Oscines) suborder of the Passeriformes, which contains around 4,000 species-nearly half the world's bird species-in 35 to 55 families, is referred to as a songbird, also known as a passerine.

This group includes the majority of cage birds.

The vocal organ is well developed in all songbirds, but not all of them use it to produce melodies, as per Britannica

It's difficult to classify this suborder.

The two most distinctive families are Hirundinidae (swallows) and Alaudidae (larks).

The size of songbirds varies from the diminutive kinglets and sunbirds to the relatively huge crows. They are primarily land birds that can be found in both broad grasslands and dense forests.

Even though songbirds are home to some of the best singers, such as thrushes, some have loud voices akin to crows, and some sing infrequently, or not at all.

The more complex vocal organ, or syrinx, is one anatomical feature that sets songbirds apart from other perching birds.

In addition to the actual song, birds can make a wide range of other cries that serve as a kind of social communication.

Bird song is best understood as the vocalization used during courtship and breeding, primarily by the male, to announce that he is ready to mate, attract the female and possibly stimulate her sexually, maintain the pair together, and inform rival males that he has established a territory from which they will be excluded.

The male's shouts are also a part of a threat display that serves to deter invading rivals in place of actual combat.

Females occasionally sing, and in tropical species, pairs may even duet, again presumably as a way to strengthen their bond.

The song is frequently performed from several visited perches.

Some species have songbirds, particularly those that dwell in grasslands.