Birdsong reveals rare hybrid coupling 10 million years in the making

Phys Org ^ | October 5, 2022 | by Adrienne Berard, Pennsylvania State University

[NWFree]

Mockingbirds had two full nests of babies this year

They can serenade like no other even at 2am in the morning

There’s not a call around they don’t know including hawks

[lee martell]

Some birds will only nest in certain trees. Luckily, whatever kind of foilage this Odd Couple required was available and had vacancies. Hopefully, no Blue Jays are in the area.
They are very aggressive and not shy about stealing from other nests.

[ClearCase_guy]

Boston musical group started in 1980 when Boston had a really thriving music scene. I believe this group is still active.

[ryderann]

“How and where they met remains a mystery...”

That must have been a helluva party.

[Red Badger]

Went to bed at two with a Wren woke up a ten with a Roo——ster.....................

[decal]

Met online - sent each other fake photos; met in the dark.

[DouglasKC]

So two sexually compatible birds had a baby. Stop the presses! It’s like getting excited that a Labrador retriever and a wolf had a baby. And if it’s happened once it’s probably already happened a million times.

[Pajamajan]

"How and where they met remains a mystery to researchers, as the two species prefer different habitats. Tanagers typically prefer the canopy cover of mature forests while rose-breasted grosbeaks are happy out in the open along the edges of woodlands. Toews explained that the two species have such divergent nesting preferences that they have been on independent evolutionary trajectories for at least 10 million years—until now."

From Ghostbusters: Dogs and cats living together.... It's another sign of the Apocalypse.

[Red Badger]

Maybe they met on ‘Twitter’?..........................😜

[stars & stripes forever]

What are the chances of happening upon the first of a new species between a rose-breasted grosbeak and a scarlet tanager that have been on independent evolutionary trajectories for at least 10 million years—until now.?

IMO, this was the work of researchers. Once the bird was hatched, it was loosed in the woods to be “discovered” by a self-described birder, Stephen Gosser.

Prove me wrong. :)

[OldWarBaby]

-—how and where? Probably at our bird bath. They all show up there. They mooch a lot of water. I think they exchange tweets, call signs, maybe nest addresses? And the junk they leave in that water is fascinating. Haven’t found a lost cell phone yet?

[GaltAdonis]

Scarlet Tanager -

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak -

Up until a few years ago I would have a few grosbeaks in my yard once a year as they migrated through.

[DannyTN]

10 million years in the making.

I know how it feels. Been a while for me too.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Years ago I saw a documentary on how you can take a song bird from one area of the country, release it in another area a few hundred miles away, and it’s song cannot be understood by the same species of bird.

It was like a language difference. Maybe that is what this is.

[BipolarBob]

They met a on a Tender twig in their joint press release and ask for privacy for the family at this time.

[piasa]

The ones that sing at night are usually single males... had one that did a great bullfrog imitation... one second he sings like a nightingale, the next a bulldog, a cardinal, a blue Jay, and a screen door....

[piasa]

Probably met while getting drunk on fermented mulberries, lol

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger. Let's all sing like the birdies sing.

[Monkey Face]

But: Will the hybrid be able to sire offspring?

Maybe there really was a cuckoo in the nest. So-to-speak.

‘Face

;o]