An Organ for Singing

INTRODUCTION briefly to indicate the variety of avian vocal systems, and to provide a perspective from which Songbirds have both an esthetic and a scientific to focus on the oscine songbirds. Readers impact on our lives. Birdsong adds beauty and interested in additional information on songbirds vitality to our environment, The possibility of should consult reviews of this subject (Nowicki its absence due to increasing levels of & Marler 1988; Suthers 1997, 1999a, b; Gaunt environmental toxins, so eloquently described & Nowicki 1998; Doupe 81 Kuhl 1999; Suthers by Rachel Carson (1962) in her goundbreaking ef ale 1999; Goller & Larsen 2002)book, Silent Spring, was a potent factor in mobilizing public opinion to become better stewards of our environment. Scientifically, the highly developed vocal communication of this group, sharing as it does a number of parallels with speech, has made songbirds especially suited for the study of complex, learned vocal communication at every level, from its molecular biology to its evolution. This chapter is about how birdsong is produced. How do birds generate such a variety of sounds and what vocal gymnastics are required to produce them? The vocal system is the interface between the bird's brain and his song. Knowing how it functions, and coming to appreciate its limitations as well as its capabilities, is important in understanding vocal communication. Birdsong is the product of the carefully coordinated activity of many different muscles. Some of these are associated with the vocal organ but many belong I