News Animals

Songs prep the brains of finches yet to hatch for a hot world

Exposure to parents' "heat calls" makes finch young more resilient to heat after hatching

Two Australian zebra finches perch on a branch in bright sunlight

Australian zebra finches (shown) make rapid peeps when the temperature rises. These “heat calls” reprogram their yet-to-hatch babies’ brains in preparation for the heat.

David Cook/flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

By Jake Buehler

Zebra finches sing their young into biological preparedness for hot weather, all before they even leave the egg.