Breed-Specific Legislation
Abstract: Studies of Bird Intelligence through Speech and Vocalization
Birds posses a respiratory and nervous system sharing similarities with the human species. Some of these similarities between birds and human beings are even closer than similarities between human beings and chimpanzees. This coupled with a high degree of intelligence allows many birds to go beyond normal songs and vocalization, enabling mimicry of many sounds and words and perhaps even the basic use of language. The evolutionary advantage of singing and mimicry is not quite known, but most researchers agree there must be a survival advantage. The degree of bird intelligence is debated, giving rise to a number of interesting studies on the cognitive ability of these animals.
Body
Human beings vibrate the vocal cords, located near the larynx, with the help of the tongue and lips to form words. Though birds possess a larynx, they actually use a structure known as the syrinx, located in the throat, to make sounds and vocalizations (4). The syrinx is basically the equivalent of the human voice box, which is located above the trachea. However, the syrinx is located farther down, at the junction of two bronchi leading to the lungs, resulting in two potential sound sources (5). The syrinx has two identical structures called medial tympaniform membranes, which create sound by producing a flow of air in the throat that creates sound waves (4). The muscles of the syrinx control sound production; birds with more intricate vocal muscles produce more complex sounds. Other structures in the respiratory system, including air sacs, aid in the vibrations the lead to sound and speech. The result is a variety of sounds with much greater range than can be attained by human beings (5).
Aside from the respiratory system, songbirds, hummingbirds, and parrots share brain patterns similar to human beings. This includes development of unique receptors at several...
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