Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Boglebaum Here, many bird watchers, or should I say bird listeners, believe that a singing bird must be a male bird. But it's not true, and that misconception might mean we're missing out on a lot of fascinating research, not just about birds, but how brains
in general handle communication. Traditionally, female songbirds have been overlooked because more males of various species sing overall, and it's been thought to be a behavior of males attracting females and defending territory audibly marking a space as theirs. But the ratio isn't overwhelmingly in favor of males, as it turns out. For the article of this episode is based on has to Work. Spoke by email with Lauren Benedict,
a University of Northern Colorado biology professor. She said, worldwide, we think that females sing and about two thirds of all songbird species. That's a pretty rough estimate though, because for the majority of all birds species, we don't have enough information to even determine whether females sing. In species where males and females look alike, it can be hard to know which sex is doing the singing of these six hundred and sixty song bird species that feature female song.
As of eighteen, recordings had only been made for about two hundred An additional three thousand, five hundred species have yet to be studied to determine whether their ladies sing or not. The male female study disparity may have initially occurred because more research hours are devoted to birds in temperate regions, where females are less likely to sing. How Stuff Works also spoke with Karen Odom, a behavioral ecologist. She said this may be because male and female roles
are separated because of the short breeding season. Males show up and sing to attract females and defend territories, whereas females spend more time devoted to building and attending to the nest. However, in the tropics we see a very different pattern. Both males and females of many songbird species sing, and they do this a large part of the year. This is an important distinction because most bird species live
in the tropics. These tropical birds sometimes keep the same mate in territory for years, so there are reasons for singing may be different than those of their temperate relatives. Odom said, based on what we do know, female birds sing for reasons similar to males. In one species, females are known to attract males with their songs, and in
other species, females appear to use songs to defend territories. However, females may also sing for broader reasons, such as to defend resources year round, possibly for herself or her offspring. Compared to male bird song, we know very little about female bird song, which is why more studies are needed. A Benedict said, where sing out on a lot of
really interesting information about bird behavior and communication. The bird song is a learned, complex signaling system that has many parallels with human language, and so far we've answered fascinating questions about how male brains helped them to communicate, but I think the same questions should be asked about females. A better understanding of female songbird habits could demystify how behaviors evolve over time in relation to mating behavior and habitat.
Knowing the difference between male and female song can also help with estimating bird population sizes, and that's critical for the worldwide conservation effort. Benedict said, having good documentation of female song will give us powerful tools for helping to protect wild bird populations. If we can track male and female behavior by listening to the songs of both sexes, will learn a lot more than if we only listen
to males. Odom and Benedict published a sort of called arms, or rather call to recording devices in a paper in and since then, researchers and citizen scientists alike have taken up that call no pun intended, and to learn more and even participate in the effort, check out the website female bird song dot org. Today's episode is based on the article we Need to Know Why the Female bird Sangs on house to works dot com, written by Leo Hoyt. Green Stuff is production of I Heart Radio and partnership
with how stuff works. Dot Com is produced by Tyler Playing and Ramsey Yeah. Before more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite show.