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After 20 Years, This Scientist Proved Birds Can Talk and Use Grammar

A Curious Birb

3,102,948 views

Part 2 - Genius Scientist Proved Birds Can Talk and...

For over two decades, Professor Toshitaka Suzuki dedicated his life to studying the Japanese tit, a small songbird native to Japan’s forests. Through years of careful observation and experiments, he discovered something incredible: these birds use grammar-like rules and combine sounds to form meaning, much like how humans use language.

In this video, we explore how his groundbreaking research challenges what we thought we knew about animal communication, and what it might mean for the way we understand intelligence in the natural world.

#birds #science #linguistics #nature #animalcommunication
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Link to Professor Suzuki discussing the topic:
鈴木俊貴/ 受賞者プレゼンテーション World OMOSIROI Award 1...
https://vimeo.com/871808034
【シジュウカラの言葉がわかる「動物言語学者」って？】鈴木俊貴さん／みんなの目の前にあ...

Research Sources and Other Useful Links:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?...
https://link.springer.com/article/10....
https://link.springer.com/article/10....
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep1...
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/...
https://link.springer.com/article/10....
https://www.academia.edu/25269600/Ref...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...

Professor Suzuki's profile and homepage:
https://www.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/re...

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This video uses images and illustrations from Wikimedia Commons, Flickr, and other Creative Commons sources.

Unless otherwise stated, all images have been cropped, zoomed, or otherwise modified for video presentation.

Full image credits (including authors, licenses, and source links) are available here:
FULL IMAGE CREDITS – https://1drv.ms/w/c/d2863ccf42cb2eac/...

20 Comments

@CuriousOwl-l5p Creator 8 months ago (edited) Pinned

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doj_wt9ER_Q

All sources are included in the description

Hi Everyone, Welcome!

I’ve been really happy reading through how thoughtful and curious the discussion here has been.

This video is actually what inspired me to start the channel in the first place. I came across this research a while back and couldn’t believe it wasn’t talked about more so it’s been genuinely exciting to see how many of you felt the same way.

A few people have shared stories about noticing similar behaviours in animals around them, even pets which is especially interesting.
We’ve known for a long time that animals communicate, but what makes this research different is how carefully those meanings were tested.

For example, when a bird makes a specific call after seeing a cat, it’s tempting to assume that call simply “means cat.” But without controlled experiments, that same call could also mean something like danger, stay alert, or look over here.

What makes this work so exciting is that it starts to separate those possibilities and pinpoint specific words that we can possibly use to clearly communicate back one day. It also invites us to be more careful observers of the animals around us.

Thanks for watching and for adding to the conversation!

@Harmo_onyyy 7 months ago

“A little birdie told me” is so much closer to reality now

@nirvashtk 8 months ago

The day my parrot said "its okay baby" when he watched me cry over the fact that he was terminally ill gave me all the proof i needed.

@pinethetree 9 months ago

I've always heard that talk is cheep
but apparently cheep is talk too

@user-wz6le2mm9w 3 months ago

“He spent 20 years studying…” bro looks like he’s 25

@breakitdown4346 9 months ago

He deserves a Nobel Prize for this.

@nathanyoung3483 8 months ago

Those birds were probably blaming each other for all the false alarms

@energ8t 8 months ago (edited)

I’ve always thought that it is ridiculous to assume birds AREN’T talking to each other.

@abigailjacksondaniels 4 months ago

We have pet cockatiels in our kitchen, and they ALWAYS alarm when sirens go by, and the male cockatiel will call me when my oven timer is going off 😂 I can't hear the timer from the back of the house, but I can hear him. I always make sure to say thank you - he's kept me from burning a lot of stuff lol.

We also have a Quaker parakeet who is the most rude and pugnacious bird I've ever seen in my life. He cusses out everyone else in the house, but I've spoken kindly to him - and also told him he's not allowed to talk to me like that - and he doesn't 😂

@esterlyn7604 8 months ago

His natural curiosity is exactly what makes him a great scientist. The worst scientists aren’t curious at all.

@BrunoPadilhaOficial 8 months ago (edited)

"He dedicated his life to studying the Japanese tit." A life well lived.

@SprayNpreyTTT 8 months ago

Bro looks 20 with 20 years of experience

@papaan8 5 months ago (edited)

これマジだよ　ダーウィンが来たって番組で見た後にたまたま公園でスズメが蛇警戒の音だして集まってたからまさかな、と思って見てみたら側溝のパイプから蛇が顔出してた

@nf2m 8 months ago

dude gave birds anxiety to study their language lmao

@FlavorAidEnjoyer 8 months ago

The time has come to gather together a vast dictionary of bird slurs for other birds

@peters4167 6 months ago

I live next to a forest, and a few months ago a bird starting sqawking late at night, and I swore one of his buddies told him to shut the hell up, and he did.

@neuto 4 months ago

Damn, the bird sounds brave, checking out what appears to be a snake instead of skedaddling

@ElisJ3487 8 months ago (edited)

As a child we had chickens. We were amazed by their language. They could express things like ‘we feel relaxed’ while sandbathing in the sunshine together, or ‘come here, I found something tasty for you’ or ‘I’m bored’, ‘I’m annoyed by your presence’, I’m anxious, something is wrong’ or ‘panicking! Predator nearby!’. Lots of emotions expressed through language. Chickens are emotional beings.

@Rob_Fordd 9 months ago

Cardinals are a good example of this because they are born not even knowing any calls, they have to be taught the language by their parents (who are some of the most caring of all bird parents).