ABOVE: Zebra finches are highly social, living in colonies of more than 100 birds. Their gregariousness may be one reason they are able to recognize dozens of individuals.
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Fast mapping, the ability to rapidly learn an association between two things after very little exposure, is a key tool responsible for the vast repertoire of human language. It’s the reason we can recognize voices from another room and why newborns prefer to listen to their mothers read them The Cat in the Hat over other women. While fast mapping is generally thought of as a human ability, zebra finches can also distinguish dozens of other finches’ vocalizations, doing so with very little exposure and retaining those memories for at least a month, researchers report today (November 13) in Science Advances.
“The reason that this study is groundbreaking is because zebra finches are the very first vocally learning species aside ...
