Animal Language Author:Michael Bright With the development of tape recorders, hydrophones, and other ssophisticated equipment, today's naturalists can record a remarkable variety of animal sounds and analyze them in the laboratory. Why do wolves howl, grasshoppers chirp, toads croak, mice squeal, and fish burp? Why do song birds, humpback whales, and gibbons sing their incredibly... more » intricate songs? Do animals learn their songs or calls, or are they innate? How do animals hear the sounds that are intended for them abovethe din of background noise?
These are some of the topics covered in Michael Bright's engagingly written account of the complexities and subtieties of animal language. To explore the reasons why animals have developed complicated auditory systems for comunication and to determine whether their sounds constitute a language, Bright introduces the reader to leading scientists from research establishments and universities throughout Europe and North America.
Michael Bright is a biologist and a producer with the British Broadcasting Corporation.« less