I can't help but comment on this. Although it's an interesting study and I don't doubt the "findings" will be proven true, it seems that her data set is far too small. She plays a song recorded in 1979 and a song recorded in 2003 and then speaks confidently about the implications of the birds reacting more to the latter. With a data set that small, there could be hundreds of reasons why the birds react more to one. For example, the 1979 bird could have had a song that wasn't liked in 1979, or the audio quality could be better in some way on the 2003 tape, or many other reasons. 

I strongly support studies like this, but we shouldn't be willing to accept new "science" on such wimpy evidence. Being critical in general increases our credibility when it really matters.

Bill
 
Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com



----- Original Message ----
From: Jim and Ann Nelson <>
To: 
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 5:55:33 PM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Songbirds Prefer the Latest Tunes


If you think bird songs sound different than when you first heard them years ago, there may be something to it.
http://www.livescience.com:80/animals/070710_latest_song.html

Jim Nelson
Bethesda, MD