Time Resolution by Single Auditory Neurones in Birds

Abstract

Calls and songs of birds often contain rapid sequences of sounds which man is unable to follow. It is commonly known that fine temporal features in bird songs become recognizable only after slowing down the playback speed of a recording. The best evidence that such sound patterns are perceived by birds is presented by song learning among passerines. The echo locating oilbird, Steatornis caripensis, must be able to hear its own cries composed of brief pulses separated by silent intervals of 2–3 ms (ref. 3). The extreme accuracy with which duetting or antiphonal birds time the delivery of songs may be regarded as further evidence.

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