Scientists use synthesized recordings to try to bring back a lost sparrow song
Researchers at the University of Buenos Aires used computer-synthesized audio to try to restore a local sparrow song that has been absent from the region since the 1960s. The aim is to help young birds learn songs they cannot pick up on their own.
Scientists from the University of Buenos Aires have carried out an experiment in which computer-synthesized audio recordings were used to restore the song of local sparrows. The song had disappeared from the region back in the 1960s.
The underlying problem is the decline in bird populations. As populations shrink, young birds often fail to learn the correct songs, since there are few adult birds left to learn from. These songs are needed to attract a mate and to defend territory.
The researchers tried a technological fix: a synthesized melody, standing in for the missing natural example, was played in a park. The playback lasted less than three months.
The available portion of the source text ends before the outcome of the experiment is described, so there is no information here on whether the sparrows actually picked up the song.
