Schönhofer Bernd, Gahr Manfred
Klinik für Pneumologie und Infektiologie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Deutschland.
Max-Planck-Institut für Biologische Intelligenz, Seewiesen, Deutschland.
Pneumologie. 2025 Jun;79(6):427-438. doi: 10.1055/a-2463-7380. Epub 2025 Jan 31.
In contrast to humans, the location where sound is produced in birds is not the larynx, but rather the so-called "vocal box" (scientific term "Syrinx"). In some species the syrinx is located at the bifurcation point of the trachea into the two main bronchi (tracheal vocal head), while in some in the main bronchi (bronchial vocal head). During inspiration, part of the air flows into the lungs, and the part needed for singing flows into the air sacs adjacent to the lungs. During expiration, air leaves the air sacs and flows through the syrinx, where the song is created. When birds sing in two voices at the same time, individual sequences are formed simultaneously in the right and left parts of the syrinx.The song analysis is based on spectrograms (so-called sonagrams), which graphically represent the frequency spectrum of bird song.The song consists of one or more verses, which in turn consist of the variable or constant sequence of motives or syllables. Some songbirds have an enormous repertoire of syllables and verses (max. up to 7000 verses per day). In addition to singing, most bird species also have much simpler begging, contact, threatening, flight, alarm and copulation calls.Male birds sing primarily for two reasons: 1. They use song to woo a potential partner. This song provides the females with important information about the applicant's performance and health. 2. Singing serves to defend the territory.In around 40 % of songbird species, females also sing. Pairs of some species sing in perfect synchronization.A number of songbirds imitate both the voices of other songbirds and ambient noises, and many songbirds have regional dialects.Song development depends on genetics and other factors such as the environment, metabolism and hormonal influences. It proceeds step by step and initially includes relatively primitive sequences (so-called "subsongs"), then leads through more complex intermediate forms ("plastic songs") and finally to the completed singing pattern ("full songs").Young birds learn the song of their species at a time when they are not yet singing themselves, often as nestlings aged 10 to 50 days from older members of the species, usually from their fathers.The song of young birds develops, based on the template of adult song, in a network of sensory-motor neurons in the forebrain.Songbirds, especially the zebra finch, currently offer the best model for the neural basis of human language learning. In birds, the so-called "High Vocal Center" orchestrates all brain regions relevant to songs, with the neural control of song being sensitive to sex hormones.
与人类不同，鸟类发声的部位不是喉部，而是所谓的“声盒”（科学术语为“鸣管”）。在一些物种中，鸣管位于气管分成两条主支气管的分叉点处（气管鸣管），而在一些物种中则位于主支气管内（支气管鸣管）。吸气时，一部分空气流入肺部，而歌唱所需的那部分空气则流入与肺部相邻的气囊。呼气时，空气从气囊流出，流经鸣管，歌声就在此处产生。当鸟类同时发出两种声音时，鸣管的左右部分会同时形成各自的序列。歌曲分析基于声谱图（所谓的语图），它以图形方式表示鸟鸣的频谱。歌曲由一个或多个段落组成，而段落又由动机或音节的可变或固定序列构成。一些鸣禽拥有数量庞大的音节和段落储备（最多每天可达7000个段落）。除了歌唱，大多数鸟类还有更为简单的乞食、联络、威胁、飞行、警报和求偶叫声。雄鸟唱歌主要有两个原因：1. 它们用歌声向潜在配偶求爱。这种歌声为雌鸟提供了有关求爱者表现和健康状况的重要信息。2. 唱歌用于保卫领地。在大约40%的鸣禽物种中，雌鸟也会唱歌。一些物种的配偶会完美同步地唱歌。许多鸣禽既会模仿其他鸣禽的声音，也会模仿周围的噪音，而且许多鸣禽有地区方言。歌曲的发展取决于基因以及其他因素，如环境、新陈代谢和激素影响。它是逐步进行的，最初包括相对原始的序列（所谓的“亚歌”），然后经过更复杂的中间形式（“可塑性歌曲”），最终形成完整的歌唱模式（“全歌”）。幼鸟在自己还不会唱歌的时候学习本物种的歌曲，通常是在10到50天大的雏鸟时期，从该物种的年长成员，通常是它们的父亲那里学习。幼鸟的歌声基于成年歌曲的模板，在前脑的感觉运动神经元网络中发展。鸣禽，尤其是斑胸草雀，目前为人类语言学习的神经基础提供了最佳模型。在鸟类中，所谓的“高级发声中枢”协调所有与歌曲相关的脑区，歌曲的神经控制对性激素敏感。
