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Wednesday, 10 Apr, 2019

Turns out birds are not so bird-brained after all, per the «Birdsong» episode of the fantastic 20000 Hz podcast @20korg (20K Hz is the typical upper limit of human hearing). Birds have a pharynx like humans, but sing with their syrinx, an organ at the base of the trachea. 🐦🐧

Some awesome examples from the episode:

• the New Zealand kokako can produce organ-like chords
• the African Grey Parrot can mimic human speech
• Mockingbirds can mimic other birds and even frogs
• the Australian Lyre bird and its uber-complex syrinx can mimic whatever it hears!

It’s worth a listen, and birds are cooler than you might imagine!