How do birds keep rhythm when they sing?
Whilst some aspects of bird song are learnt, rhythm is thought to be an innate trait in most species and plays an important role in sexual selection and species recognition. However, little is known about the genetic basis of song rhythm. Matteo Sebastianelli and colleagues measured the song rhythms of yellow- and red-fronted tinkerbirds. In Nature Communications they describe genes linked to bird song rhythm and tempo and suggest that two genes — Neurexin-1 and Coenzyme Q8A — which are also known to affect human speech, may shape vocal rhythm in birds.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4146...