Understanding the mechanisms of evolution of brain pathways for complex behaviours is
still in its infancy. Making further advances requires a deeper understanding of brain …

Despite significant progress in understanding the evolution of the mammalian brain,
relatively little is known of the patterns of evolutionary change in the avian brain. In …

The voices of birds have always been a source of fascination. Nature's Music brings together
some of the world's experts on birdsong, to review the advances that have taken place in our …

Most vertebrates communicate acoustically, but few, among them humans, dolphins and
whales, bats, and three orders of birds, learn this trait. FOXP2 is the first gene linked to …

The ability to imitate complex sounds is rare, and among birds has been found only in
parrots, songbirds, and hummingbirds. Parrots exhibit the most advanced vocal mimicry …

Parrots of the Wild explores recent scientific discoveries and what they reveal about the lives
of wild parrots, which are among the most intelligent and rarest of birds. Catherine A. Toft …

The oscine song system has emerged as one of the leading model systems for studying
motor learning in vertebrates, combining an easily recorded behavior with a discrete neural …

The avian nucleus mesencephalicus lateralis, pars dorsalis (MLd) is an auditory midbrain
nucleus that plays a significant role in a variety of acoustically mediated behaviours. We …

Parrots are unusual among birds and animals in general in the extent of their ability to learn
new vocalizations throughout life and irrespective of season. The budgerigar (Melopsittacus …

Hodological, electrophysiological, and ablation studies indicate a role for the basal forebrain
in telencephalic vocal control; however, to date the organization of the basal forebrain has …