Listen to bats sing
Since at least 1974, biologists have known that some male bats sing very much as songbirds do, and they warble for the same reasons: to defend territories and to attract mates. Recently, researchers have discovered that the tunes of some bats are even more complex and similar to bird song than first suspected. These bats' melodies are structured, have multiple syllables, phrases, repeated patterns, and, of course, rhythm. Their songs also have syntax, meaning rules for how the phrases can be combined. But the rules are flexible, and a bat can improvise, singing a song his way. So far, scientists have identified 20 species of bat troubadours around the world. Here are some of the known bat songsters and their tunes.
Reference
When the bat sings
Science 20 June 2014: Vol. 344 no. 6190 pp. 1334-1337 DOI: 10.1126/science.344.6190.1334
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Bats, like birds, can sing. They emit multisyllabic trills and chirps in specific combinations and rhythms, crafting tunes that are as complex as those of songbirds. From New Zealand to Africa, researchers are seeking out bat troubadours to find out when and why these winged mammals burst into song, and why they have evolved this mentally demanding ability. Studies by Kirsten Bohn, Michael Smotherman, and others have shown that like many songbirds, most bat songsters are male, live in polygynous societies where males mate with more than one female, and tend to sing to court females and defend territories. Their complex songs are probably not innate, and so require vocal learning, as bird song and human speech do. Studies by these and other researchers are exploring what bats can reveal about the evolution of complex vocal abilities, including human speech.
When The Bat Sings For Country: United States. City: Columbia, Denton, Los Angeles, Murfreesboro, San Francisco
