Re: virus: More virian propositions
Robert Moritz (robertmoritz@earthlink.net)
Sun, 11 Oct 1998 15:39:15 -0500
Eric Boyd wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> "Tim Rhodes" <proftim@speakeasy.org> wrote:
> > Incorrect. Songbirds are genetically programmed to sing, but
> > the songs themselves are not. (Much as we are programmed for
> > language, but not _a_ language.) Birdsongs vary within species
> > by region and location; a flock's songs change over time and within
> > the lifespan a single bird; new songs introduced are copied and
> > spread to other flocks; and songbirds of one species raised by
> > another species will grow up to sing their foster parents songs.
>
> Really? Why is it, then, that field guides to birds can record bird songs
> accuratly? My parents possess a 20 year old record of bird songs which is
> every bit as useful now as it was then -- Robins still sound like Robins,
> and it don't even matter where you live!
>
> I think you're trying to bullshit me, Tim.
>
> ERiC
If it's bullshit, then Tim must have heard it from the same source as I.
I've read of the songs of birds having different 'dialects' depending
upon the learned source, etc. Although, I can't speak from personal
experience...I couldn't distinguish the sound of a penguin from an
osterich.
Robert