Event overview
Wild melodies: studying bird song as culture
We are pleased to welcome Dr Nilo Merino Recalde, University of Oxford, who will give a talk titled Wild melodies: studying bird song as culture.
Abstract: Bird song is learned socially, forming traditions that persist and change within populations. But what drives that change in the wild? This talk introduces the basics of bird song and bioacoustics and shows how new computational tools are transforming the study of animal culture. Drawing on a long-term study of great tits, I’ll show how demography—immigration, dispersal, age structure, and turnover—shapes song traditions, mirroring processes that influence human language and music.
This talk is part of the MMB & PANC Speaker Series 2025–26 in Psychology, a collaborative initiative between the MSc programmes in Music, Mind and Brain (MMB) and Psychology of Aesthetics, Neuroscience and Creativity (PANC). The series brings together world-leading researchers and practitioners working at the intersection of psychology, aesthetics, music, creativity, and the arts.
For more information, contact Dr Manuel Anglada-Tort at m.angladatort@gold.ac.uk
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Oct 2025 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm |
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