Male songbirds' sexy tune excites ladies

The sexy syllables sung by male songbirds may have a bigger effect on the ladies than previously thought.

Male songbirds use "sexy syllables" to serenade their way to a shag.

The vocal range of male songbirds doesn't just excite the ladies, but also physically fires up their sex organs according to research from the University of Auckland released on Wednesday.

When the men hit their "sexy syllables", the nerves of female birds around the cloaca or reproductive trait, physically react and respond to the tune.

"In female canaries the elicitation and intensity of the CSD is under the control of highly specific, possibly innate, acoustic components of male song, called sexy syllables," the report written by Martin Wild and Joao Botelho said.

Furthermore, the male bird may not even have to be nearby to elicit such a reaction.

A total of 21 male and female canaries were used during the study.


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