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Birdsong and human voice built from same genetic blueprint - EurekAlert


Humans have been long fascinated by bird song and the cacophony of other avian sounds — from coos and honks to quacks and peeps. But little is known about how the unique vocal organ of birds — the syrinx — varies from species to species or its deeper evolutionary origins. A trio of recent studies led by researchers from The University of Texas at Austin is changing that. The studies include high-resolution anatomical scans of syrinxes from hummingbirds and ostriches — the world’s smallest and largest bird species — and the discovery that the syrinx and larynx, the vocal organ of reptiles and mammals, including humans, share the same developmental programming.

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