In recent years we have seen a dramatic shift, in several different areas of communication
studies, from an information-theoretic to a dynamic systems paradigm. In an information …

Speech has long been thought of as a uniquely defining characteristic of humans. Yet song
birds, like humans, communicate using learned signals (song, speech) that are acquired …

This book addresses central questions in the evolution of language: where it came from;
how it relates to primate communication; how and why it evolved; how it came to be …

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 …

Highlights•Learning of social calls is more common among birds and mammals than song
learning.•Unlike song learning, call learning is not well explained by sexual selection.•We …

Females of several songbird species have been shown to respond preferentially to a more
complex song. The male budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) sings complex songs …

Expression of the immediate-early genes (IEGs) has been shown to be induced by activity-
dependent synaptic plasticity or behavioral training and is thought to play an important role …

Lactating mice display fierce aggression towards novel, male mice. This study compares
neuronal activity in the brains of aggression-tested (T) and-untested (U) mice using early …

Vocalisation in songbirds and parrots has become a prominent model system for speech
and language in humans. We investigated possible sex differences in behavioural and …

Parrots and songbirds learn their vocalizations from a conspecific tutor, much like human
infants acquire spoken language. Parrots can learn human words and it has been …