[Animals] It's not just parrots, these animals also talk!

[#Wittels-]

An investigation showed that three other species were able to emit sounds identical to those made by humans. Find out.

Oddly enough, there are animals that can imitate the human voice. Due to the sounds they emit, the similarity in reproduction is truly amazing.

Parrots, perhaps, are among the most common. They sing, imitate, and even repeat phrases of the inhabitants of the home. But according to research, other animals live on planet Earth that have managed to emulate the sounds that people make.

In that search, research conducted in the United Kingdom showed that dolphins take the crown of the animals that speak the most. "If you're ever in the water with dolphins there's almost never silence, it's always vocalizing," explained Arik Kershenbaum, a zoologist at the University of Cambridge.

However, they also show that the gray parrot is one of the most talkative birds in the animal world thanks to its great ability to reproduce language. It is the talkative bird (and imitator) par excellence, only surpassed by the great talkative capacity of the Himalayan Miná.

Scientists now devote part of their research to studying what animals can teach us about human language. Therefore, they have identified certain genetic alterations in songbirds that could shed light on how speech disorders occur in people.

They also claim that animals make sounds to issue warnings, attract mates, find their groups and defend their territory. Like us, their vocal cords serve a number of purposes that provide their social foundation and ensure their survival.

 

The hyena and the lark join the list
Spotted hyenas, unlike parrots and dolphins, are not as direct in their speech, but they do make sounds. They just laugh and howl. They can produce up to 10 different types of vocalization. The sounds of hyenas' "laughter" contain important information about the animal's status, scientists say.

In turn, the lark tries to compare itself with the parrot, and reproduce (to a lesser extent) familiar sounds (dog barks, compliments, songs).

the talking duck
In addition, months ago it was learned that a Dutch scientist discovered old recordings of a musk duck imitating the phrase "You bloody fool!" ("You bloody fool!"), learned when raised by humans in an Australian bird park

 

Leiden University scientist Carel Ten Cate said that what was interesting about the vocal expression of the waterfowl, nicknamed "Ripper", was not so much the message, but the fact that it could mimic humans.

"It's definitely based on the human voice, although the pronunciation is a bit weird, which could be the Australian accent, I don't know," said Ten Cate, who published her findings in the biological research journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

He said he had initially wondered if the recordings, made in the 1980s, might be a hoax, but they were made by ornithologist Peter Fullagar, a co-author of the paper. The recordings had been kept in a sound file and had been consulted occasionally until rediscovered by Ten Cate in the course of her research on vocal learning in birds.

Ten Cate said that Ripper had something else in his repertoire: he could also make a noise like a door closing and its latch clicking.

 

Some species of animals, especially birds such as parrots and songbirds, are capable of imitating human speech. But the phenomenon is rare, although somewhat more common in animals raised by humans.

"Finding a species outside these groups (...) in a duck is quite extraordinary. It is an evolutionary event independent of the ability to learn vocals, which is very special," says Ten Cate.

 

Link: https://www.ambito.com/informacion-general/animales/no-solo-son-los-loros-estos-tambien-hablan-n5425153