Monthly Seminar - Evolution of the Dawn Chorus

If you have woken to the sound of birds singing early in the morning, you have experienced a phenomenon known as the ‘dawn chorus’. But why do birds do this and when did it originate? I conducted a literature review to try and find a likely origin of the behaviour by looking at research defining the dawn chorus, the prevalence among extant bird lineages, and the anatomically relevant syrinx along with its evolution. Did birds start singing at dawn more recently, or did non-avian dinosaurs also call in the early mornings of the Mesozoic?

Join Marama in the Museum's seminar room on campus, or online in Gathertown, to hear about this amazing project.