Canadian sparrows changing their tuneThe white-throated sparrow of North America, whose singing preferences are the subject of a new study. WASHINGTON: Members of a Canadian sparrow species famous for their jaunty signature song are changing their tune, a curious example of a "viral phenomenon" in the animal kingdom, a study showed Thursday. Canadians even invented lyrics to accompany the ditty: "Oh my sweet, Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da." But starting from the late 20th century, biologists began noticing that members of the species in western Canada were innovating. Going back to the human example, it would be akin to "if all the French women in Paris thought that a Quebec accent sounded much more interesting than a Parisian accent, and so everybody starts adopting a Quebec accent."

Source: Bangkok Post July 02, 2020 23:15 UTC