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Bird's Warning Chirps Reveal Surprising Smarts
Robert Roy Britt
LiveScience Senior Writer
LiveScience.com
Thu Jun 23, 4:58 PM ET
Birds squawk and chirp to attract mates and warn of danger. But much of their intelligent chatter has until now eluded human comprehension.
The black-capped chickadee not only warns its flock of danger but also communicates the predator's size and relative threat, a new study finds.
All with a familiar chick-a-dee-dee-dee -- plus a few more dees.
Imminent danger?
A cat on the ground might elicit five or 10 dees. But something closer and capable of an aerial attack could generate nearly two dozen closing notes.
Dalje
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