Singing mice

Holy and Guo have an article (2005) in the latest PLOS Biology demonstrating that male mice sing to female mice. The sounds are considered song because they "includ[e] several syllable types organized into phrases and motifs." Sadly, the singing is in the ultrasonic range, so humans can't hear it, but the journal article includes slowed down (or pitch-shifted) versions of the songs that humans can hear (see the supporting information section).

The article also includes some background on mouse vocalizations, including the observation that "pups produce [ultrasonic] 'isolation calls' when cold or when removed from the nest". This, of course, makes these guys seem even cuter:


10-day-old baby mice, hopefully not vocalizing that they're cold or lonely.

They've even got a table of the most common mouse syllables; maybe Semantic Compositions can help me learn to speak mouse-ish.

Holy TE, Guo Z. 2005. Ultrasonic Songs of Male Mice. PLoS Biol 3(12): e386 (full-text; synopsis; press-release)