All air-breathing vertebrates have a larynx—a structure of muscles and folds that protects the trachea and, in many animals, vibrates and modulates to produce a stunning array of sounds. But birds, ...

Animals do all sorts of things to attract each other as potential mates. Many birds, for example, produce feathers with ...

Zebra finches have a more complex way of communicating than previously thought. A new study published in the journal Science found that the sociable songbird does not just recognize and organize ...

NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Matthew Medler of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology about the best bird sounds of 2025 from their vast collection of recordings, and why their selections made the list.

I’m not a bird watcher, but I’ve become a bird listener ever since downloading a bionic ear app to my phone. It lets me enter a different world, one where I’m surrounded not just by chirping but by ...

When a bird spots a predator and emits an alarm call, do its neighbors think “predator” and then react? Or do they automatically freeze or fly away because that’s what they’re wired to do?

Birds' voiceboxes are in their chests instead of their throats like mammals and reptiles. Scientists aren't sure how or why birds evolved these unique voiceboxes, but a new study sheds some light on ...

Over a decade ago, behavioral ecologist Diane Colombelli-Négrel was wiring superb fairy wrens’ nests to record the birds’ sounds when she noticed something odd. Mother fairy wrens sang while ...