Finding a Voice
Biologists at UMBC were on the hunt for female songbirds. The world sat up and took notice when they found them. By Joel N. Shurkin Illustrations by David Plunkert Once upon a time – 60 million years ago or so in Australia – a small, perhaps brightly feathered descendant of the recently extinct dinosaurs opened its beak and produced a melodic set of notes. And while it is impossible to know if the creature was startled by the sound it produced (more likely the change was subtle), that moment was the prelude to all bird song. Kevin E. Omland, professor… Continue Reading Finding a Voice