Tag: Brood Parasitism


  • Birds’ Vocal Warnings Help Explain Language Origins

    Birds’ Vocal Warnings Help Explain Language Origins

    Global Insight: Similar warnings across continents A multinational team of researchers has found that more than 20 bird species across four continents announce the presence of nest parasites with nearly identical whining vocalizations. This remarkable convergence occurs despite millions of years of evolution and vast geographic separation, suggesting a learned response to a common ecological…

  • Birds’ Vocal Warnings Point to Language Origins: Global Study

    Birds’ Vocal Warnings Point to Language Origins: Global Study

    Birds’ Vocal Warnings Reveal a Global Link to Language Origins ITHACA, N.Y. – A remarkable cross-continental discovery shows that more than two dozen bird species, spread across four continents, share a nearly identical whining vocal warning. The sound is produced when a parasite bird—such as a cuckoo—intrudes on a nest, and the host birds identify…

  • Birds’ Vocal Warnings Reveal Clues About Language Origins

    Birds’ Vocal Warnings Reveal Clues About Language Origins

    Global parallels in nest-parasite warnings A sweeping international study finds that more than 20 bird species across four continents share an remarkably similar warning call when they spot a brood parasite near their nests. The whining vocalization, learned in the moment as birds listen to their surroundings, appears to be a common strategy across distant…