From Newsgroup: sci.lang


Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> posted:

On 2025-09-06, Tilde <invalide@invalid.invalid> wrote:

https://phys.org/news/2025-09-fast-brains-humans-marmosets.html

Why does like every pop-sci article have to contain a throwaway
paragraph that gives me pause:

Only a handful of other speciesrCoincluding a
few songbirds such as cowbirds and zebra
finchesrColearn to "talk" by noting their
parents' reactions to their initial coos and
gurgles.

How does that work for cowbirds? They are brood parasites.

Faster brain growth at birth/hatch, not in womb. Cowbird fetus can hear birth mother through shell, then hears adopted mother after hatching.
Alloparenting induces or increases initial 2-way speech/song
Cowbird brood parasitism may produce effect of alloparenting, having two mothers communicating.
Or not.

Also, sampling bias? How many species have been studied in detail?

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