The Psalmist wrote that the birds of the air “sing among the branches” (Psalm 104:12). Just how well they can sing is becoming increasingly apparent to researchers. In various bird species,1 pairs (a male and a female) are able to not only sing in tightly synchronized unison but also in antiphonal duets. In songs sung antiphonally, the male and female sing alternating song phrases, frequently in rapid succession and with such precise timing and coordination that people have often mistaken them to be a single bird singing. Note the second bird to sing in an antiphonal duet must correctly and quickly recognize which song in their musical repertoire the first bird has initiated, in order to correctly contribute the next phrase of the song. Otherwise the duet would end prematurely. Researchers point out that “rapid and precise acoustic interchanges between animals can indicate remarkable perception and information-processing abilities”—and duetting is a particularly striking example of complex acoustic communication.
