Overview
- Detailed report on a topic that has already attracted much popular interest
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering (BIOMEDICAL)
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
In recent years birdsong has developed into an extremely interesting problem for researchers in several branches of the scientific community. The reason is that of the approximately 10,000 species of birds known to exist, some 4000 share with humans (and just a few other species in the animal kingdom) a remarkable feature: their acquisition of vocalization requires a certain degree of exposure to a tutor. Between the complex neural architecture involved in the process and the song itself, stands a delicate apparatus that the bird must control with incredible precision. This book deals with the physical mechanisms at work in the production of birdsong, the acoustic effects that the avian vocal organ is capable of generating, and the nature of the neural instructions needed to drive it. The book provides fascinating reading for physicists, biologists and general readers alike.
Reviews
From the reviews:
"Mindlin and Laje’s new book, which is largely … dedicated to acoustic phonetics in birds is thus a welcome addition to the existing literature, and helps fill a large void. The book is written as a tutorial-like guide that can be used without any special background in physics. … I found the book very stimulating and a pleasure to read. … There is no doubt that this book is a must for those involved in birdsong research … . I recommended it strongly." (Gabriël J. L. Beckers, Animal Behaviour, Vol. 71 (4), 2006)
"Studies of birdsong have enhanced our understanding of many natural phenomena, from brain function and learning mechanisms, to the evolution of language and speciation. … Although most of the physics and neurophysiology described can be found scattered through various other publications, it is extremely useful to find all the information in one volume. … The Physics of Birdsong is likely to remain essential reading for professional birdsong scientists for many years to come." (Nathalie Seddon, IBIS, Vol. 149, 2007)
Authors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Physics of Birdsong
Authors: Gabriel B. Mindlin, Rodrigo Laje
Series Title: Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-28249-1
Publisher: Springer Berlin, Heidelberg
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-540-25399-0Published: 02 August 2005
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-642-06480-7Published: 21 October 2010
eBook ISBN: 978-3-540-28249-5Published: 01 December 2005
Series ISSN: 1618-7210
Series E-ISSN: 2197-5647
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: X, 158
Number of Illustrations: 65 b/w illustrations
Topics: Biological and Medical Physics, Biophysics, Neurobiology, Acoustics, Animal Anatomy / Morphology / Histology