BirdNote Daily

A Song That Has Survived for Thousands of Years


Listen Later

Sometimes, a species’ song changes over the course of a few decades. But a bird that lives in the mountains of eastern Africa, the Forest Double-collared Sunbird, appears to have kept the same song for at least 500,000 years. That’s the amount of time that two populations of the species split up into two separate mountain ranges. Despite a lack of contact between those populations, they sing a nearly identical song, suggesting that it’s very similar to the one their ancestors sang long ago.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. 

BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

 


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

BirdNote DailyBy BirdNote

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

1,210 ratings


More shows like BirdNote Daily

View all
Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,812 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,466 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,815 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,833 Listeners

Outside/In by NHPR

Outside/In

1,476 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,400 Listeners

The American Birding Podcast by American Birding Association

The American Birding Podcast

658 Listeners

In Defense of Plants Podcast by In Defense of Plants

In Defense of Plants Podcast

1,247 Listeners

Ologies with Alie Ward by Alie Ward

Ologies with Alie Ward

24,388 Listeners

BirdNote Presents by BirdNote

BirdNote Presents

416 Listeners

The Wild with Chris Morgan by KUOW News and Information

The Wild with Chris Morgan

3,402 Listeners

The Science of Birds by Ivan Phillipsen

The Science of Birds

875 Listeners

Threatened by BirdNote

Threatened

102 Listeners

Completely Arbortrary by Completely Arbortrary

Completely Arbortrary

1,242 Listeners

The Atlas Obscura Podcast by SiriusXM and Atlas Obscura

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

1,725 Listeners

Bring Birds Back by BirdNote

Bring Birds Back

172 Listeners

The Warblers by Birds Canada by Andrea Gress for Birds Canada

The Warblers by Birds Canada

41 Listeners

Life List: A Birding Podcast by George Armistead, Alvaro Jaramillo, and Mollee Brown

Life List: A Birding Podcast

163 Listeners

Sound Escapes by BirdNote

Sound Escapes

15 Listeners