Budgerigars have the ability to peck in time with a rhythm, a team of Japanese researchers has found -- a finding researchers say sheds light on the language-learning process.
The discovery was made by a team including members of the Japan Science and Technology Agency and the University of Tokyo.
The ability to tap in time with a rhythm has been found in only a few species besides humans, including elephants and parrots. In the field of brain science, a sense of rhythm is believed to be an indispensable part of language learning, and researchers say the finding will shed light on the language-learning process.
The team trained eight budgerigars (also known as budgies or parakeets) to peck in time with beeps and flashing LED lights, by giving them food if they managed to successfully peck at various speeds six times in a row. Later, when the intervals between each beat were set at six lengths ranging between 0.45 and 1.8 seconds, the budgies were able to peck in time with the rhythms after several attempts.
In the experiments, the birds often tapped slightly before the beep and flashing light, indicating that they could predict the intervals between the flashes.
Imitating sound made by others is deeply connected with language acquisition. The fact that budgerigars, which can imitate human speech, have a sense of rhythm is viewed by researchers as strong evidence that there is a connection between language acquisition and a sense of rhythm.
"We want to see if parakeets can start dancing to music like humans do," said Yoshimasa Seki, a researcher at the Japan Science and Technology Agency.
The team's research has been published in the British journal Scientific Reports.