As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Thursday, 18 July 2019

Sounds of intense emotion may be universal language across species, study shows


JULY 11, 2019

by Katie Willis, University of Alberta
People can tell how other people are feeling by the sounds they make and now, new research from the University of Alberta shows that may also apply to different animals.

"The idea is that some species (those that are vocal learners) can understand other species' vocalizations," explained psychology Ph.D. student Jenna Congdon, who led a new study that showed both humans and black-capped chickadees can detect intense emotions such as fear or excitement in other species.

"For instance, a songbird is able to understand the call of distress of a different type of songbird when they are in the presence of a predator, like an owl or a hawk. Or, for example, if your friend scared you and you screamed. Both of these are high-arousal vocalizations, and being able to understand what that sounds like in a different species can be very useful."



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