Like humans, birds combine otherwise unintelligible sounds into sequences that reveal meaning. Until now, researchers considered this element of language formation unique to humans.

Similar to the way syllables are strung together to form words, the calls of chestnut-crowned babblers feature different sound combinations for different scenarios.

"Although previous studies indicate that animals, particularly birds, are capable of stringing different sounds together as part of a complex song, these songs generally lack a specific meaning and changing the arrangement of sounds within a song does not seem to alter its overall message," Sabrina Engesser, lead author of a new study on the phenomenon and a researcher at the University of Zurich, explained in a press release.

"In contrast to most songbirds, chestnut-crowned babblers do not sing," Engesser added. "Instead its extensive vocal repertoire is characterised by discrete calls made up of smaller acoustically distinct individual sounds."

Researchers at Zurich and the University of Exeter found that the Australian bird, a highly social species from the Outback, uses two distinct sounds -- categorized as sound "A" and sound "B." The combo AB is belted out during flight, while the pattern BAB corresponds with feeding.

In observing chicks, scientists found the birds craned their necks toward the nest when they heard the BAB call (the dinner bell) and looked skyward for incoming birds when the flying AB call rang out.

"This is the first time that the capacity to generate new meaning from rearranging meaningless elements has been shown to exist outside of humans," co-author Simon Townsend said. "Although the two babbler bird calls are structurally very similar, they are produced in totally different behavioural contexts and listening birds are capable of picking up on this."
Source: UPI