A baby's babbling may sound like nonsense, but it's actually an extended act of trial-and-error learning. As babies produce ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A western meadowlark sings its mating song Danita Delimont/Gallo Images Roots RF collection via Getty Images Waking up to the dawn ...

Over a decade ago, behavioral ecologist Diane Colombelli-Négrel was wiring superb fairy wrens’ nests to record the birds’ sounds when she noticed something odd. Mother fairy wrens sang while ...

For decades, scientists have known that only a few groups of birds—songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds—can learn to produce new sounds. But a new article in The Quarterly Review of Biology reveals ...

Each week a new group of birds passes through the yard as they wing their way north. Some stay to nest, while others continue their journey. So far, I’ve welcomed killdeer, woodcock, phoebes, field ...

Just like babies in utero who get accustomed to their parents' voices from inside the womb, baby birds hear and absorb their parents' chirping and singing commands while waiting to hatch from eggs, ...

In our quest to find what makes humans unique, we often compare ourselves with our closest relatives: the great apes. But when it comes to understanding the quintessential human capacity for language, ...

This story is part of our summer Book Club conversation about Jennifer Ackerman’s book ‘The Genius of Birds.’ Want to participate? Sign up for our newsletter or send us your thoughts on the SciFri ...

Scientists have found a trigger for social learning in wild animals. An experiment on great tits has pinpointed a single factor --immigration -- that can cause birds to pay close attention to others, ...

Waking up to the dawn chorus of birds – one of the natural world’s greatest symphonies – is a joy like no other. It is not surprising that bird-watching has become an increasingly popular hobby. A ...