Baby bats babble like humans
By Victoria Gill
Science correspondent, BBC News
Published 1 day ago
MICHAEL STIFTER
The babbling bat pups appear to be practising their vocal skills
Scientists who systematically eavesdropped on bat roosts in Costa Rica have discovered baby-bat babbling bears a striking resemblance to that of human infants.
The bats produce rhythmic sounds and repeat key "building-block syllables".
And this suggests - just like in human infants - their babbling lays the foundations for communication.
"They just babble away, sunrise to sunset, practising their sounds," lead researcher Dr Ahana Fernandez said.
Dr Fernandez, based at the Museum of Natural History in Berlin, studied a particularly vocal species - the greater sac-winged bat, Saccopteryx bilineata.
"These bats actually sing like songbirds," she said.
"So they have very sophisticated vocal communication - a repertoire of distinct syllable types."
Dr Fernandez and her colleagues, who published their findings in the journal Science, analysed recordings of the bat pups babbling in their roosts.
Characteristic features included:
More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58271913
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