Freaky Friday presentation: Birds, brains and songs

By Neeltje Boogert (Biology, McGill)

Not only do some birds sing but they sing cleverly. Female birds prefer males that sing ‘prettier songs’, but sometimes they have a strange definition of ‘pretty’. Female zebra finches prefer males with more complex songs, even though all zebra finch songs sound like a squeaking rubber ducky to us.  Moreover, females may be able to judge how smart a male is based on his song! Neeltje Boogert will discuss these and other amazing facts about animal communication.