Warbling Wrens Whistle

Warbling Wrens Whistle

http://news.yahoo.com/warbling-wrens-dont-just-tweet-sing-duets-180118228.html

Eric Fortune of Johns Hopkins University who studies psychology and brain science began studying South American birds when field biologists reported the birds singing duets. His research is seeking to explain how the brain handles the details of the shared song.

Birds singing duets isn't unheard of, but it's rare and these perform the fastest and most precise songs known, Fortune said in a telephone interview. The birds live in dense bamboo groves in the Andes Mountains in Ecuador.

"Calling it a love song is probably too strong a word," says researcher Eric S. Fortune of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. But, he adds, the little wrens shift their heads around and move closer together as they sing.

Fortune thinks it's a test, with the female birds choosing mates based on how well the males can follow cues and keep up with the song.

The females start the song, he said, and the males join in. Sometimes the males will drop out for a bit. He isn't sure if it's a mistake on their part, or they just can't keep up. Indeed, the birds alternate chirps so quickly it can sound like a single bird singing.

"It's as if the birds each sing their own unique part," Fortune explained. If the song had lyrics that went A, B, C, D, the female might be doing A and C while the male did B and D, he said. And, he added, the duet songs vary slightly from place to place.

Reminds me of the mockingjays in the Hunger Games, but this is a picture of a male plain-tailed wren.