When a wild bird loses its song, the silence is deafening
Australia’s Regent honeyeater is now so rare young birds have no adults from which to learn their own language
21 March 2021 - 05:10
Just as humans learn languages, animals learn behaviours crucial for survival and reproduction from older, experienced individuals of the same species. In this way, important “cultures”, such as bird songs, are passed from one generation to the next.
But global biodiversity loss means many animal populations are becoming small and sparsely distributed. This jeopardises the ability of young animals to learn important behaviours...
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