The Curious Canon Of Swamp Sparrow Songs

Guest: Stephen Nowicki, PhD, Professor of Biology, Duke University When a male swamp sparrow sings to a prospective mate, the song sounds more like Frank Sinatra singing “I got you under my skin” than Justin Bieber singing “If I was your boyfriend, never let you go.” Female swamp sparrows prefer males who croon the oldies, as it turns out. And so these birds have become really good at passing down the same successful love songs from one generation to another over centuries. That’s something scientists have long thought was really only possible in humans.