Program Meeting Grammar matters - to birds!

May Monthly Meeting: Grammar Matters - to Birds!

Speaker: Sofia Haley-Lundborg, University of Nevada, Reno PhD student

Birds are a highly vocal clade that relies on vocal communication to facilitate many different behaviors essential to survival. Vocal communication differs among species depending on the specific constraints and requirements for the particular system. Some vocalizations, like song, function as advertisements of individual quality; while other vocalizations communicate specific information. Some bird species live in complex social groups that require very complex communication guided by rules. There is evidence that some bird species follow "grammatical rules" to ensure effective and accurate communication. This talk will go into the complexities and language-like qualities of some bird vocalizations!