In addition to all the jokes, scientists find talking duck

Talking Duck

Monday, 13th September 2021

Autch scientists found an old shot of a musk duck that imitates the phrase "You damn fool!"

Leiden University scientist Carel Ten Cate said that the interesting expression of this waterfowl nicknamed the "ripper," is not in the message it conveys, but in the fact that it can imitate humans.

"It's definitely based on a human voice, although the pronunciation is a bit strange, it may be an Australian accent, I don't know," said Ten Cate, who published his findings in the Dutch Journal of Philosophy. Royal Society Journal for Biological Research.

He said he initially doubted the 1980s recordings could be a joke, but they were produced by living ornithologist Peter Fullagar, who was a co-author of the paper. The recordings were stored in a sound archive and occasionally quoted until Kate rediscovered them during his research into bird song learning.

Ten Cate said Ripper has more repertoire, and it can also make sounds similar to the sound of closing doors and clicking latches.

Some animals, especially birds like parrots and songbirds, can mimic human speech. But this phenomenon is more commonly addressed in animals by humans, but this phenomenon is rare.

"If you find a species outside of these groups ... in the ducks, it is very remarkable. So this is an independent evolutionary event with a very special solid ability to learn," said Shikaite.

The News Talkie Bureau

Source:

IndiaToday