Mouse Song

If you’ve ever been wooed with song, you know that it can be a heady experience. Birds do it. Whales do it. We do it. And, apparently, so do mice.

While Mickey’s song is too high-pitched for human ears to hear, when heard at a lower frequency, the song sounds something like a cross between birdsong and the noise of clean glass being scrubbed.

According to scientists at Duke University in North Carolina, male mice woo females with ultrasonic songs and those songs vary depending on the context. So Mickey sings louder and more complex songs when he can smell Minnie but can’t see her. His songs are longer and simpler when he’s singing directly to her.

If Minnie is placed in a tunnel with the two types of song playing through speakers at opposite ends, she’ll move towards the “calling” serenade. The good doctors believe that Minnie may be using the quality of Mickey’s song to decide if he’s good daddy material.

Of course, this isn’t all about mating. Scientists believe that since mice are capable of complex vocalizations that could make them a useful in studying conditions involving language problems.

Isn’t it fascinating how what we learn about animals helps use to help ourselves? The world is, indeed, a fascinating place. And scientists… well, they’re some of my favourite people!