To further investigate birds' communicative and musical abilities, the authors of this study looked into the vocalizations and bill sounds associated with singing in the Java sparrow, a song bird.

Java sparrows are both vocalists and percussionists. Photo: Suzme/amanaimages/Corbis When Java sparrows make love, they do it to the beat of their own in-house avian techno. As at a rave, the ...

Listen closely to a Java sparrow sing: Interspersed among the notes will be clicks that the bird makes with its bill. All male birds use the clicking sounds in their songs — and the patterns ...