GoKawiilResearchers use synthetic birdsong to revive sparrows' lost song dialect
A team led by physicist Gabriel Mindlin at the University of Buenos Aires generated a computer-recreated version of a rufous-collared sparrow song last documented in a Buenos Aires park in the 1960s. After playing it back to local birds, a sparrow began imitating parts of the song within about three months. The work is part of broader research into how declining bird populations lose access to the songs needed for mating and territory defense.