How do songbirds learn their mating melodies? Scientists reveal clues.

Human babies seem to have a natural knack for languages. Fluency in any of the world's 6,500 languages comes within the first few years of life, without much apparent effort. A recent study of how songbirds learn their melodies seeks to shine light on the cognitive processes through which young birds learn and imitate vocal communication – insights which could lead to a better understanding of the development of human speech, as well. "A bird's baby song is really immature. There's no clear structure - it's more like a baby babbling, but then it becomes structured, like the tutor song [as the bird gets older]," Yoko Yazaki-Sugiyama, co-author of the study published in Nature Communications Tuesday, tells The Christian Science Monitor in a phone interview. The male zebra finch learns a complex song from his father, or tutor, in order to attract a female finch.