Animal acoustics

Contrary to what researchers had assumed, Egyptian fruit bats don’t rely solely on sight to orient themselves as they drink and forage for food in daylight. 

Avoidance of predation is a driving force behind the daily movements of marine creatures across the food web, a study concludes.

Across the tree of life, animals use sound and other vibrations to glean valuable sensory information about their environments even before they are born.

Recent findings buck the traditional idea that embryos are passive agents and instead suggest that by tuning into vibrations, organisms can better prepare to enter the outside world.

Watch and listen to reptiles, amphibians, insects, and birds respond to sound from inside their eggs.

As they close in for the kill, the flying mammals use quieter echolocation to focus on the chase.

As shelter-in-place orders quieted the city of San Francisco, its sparrow population developed softer, sexier songs.

The unborn chicks translate auditory alarms from adult birds into quaking vibrations.

Hear seals imitating human sounds and melodies.

The University of St. Andrews behavioral ecologist studies the social structures and behaviors of whales and dolphins, recording and analyzing their acoustic communications.