How come some birds talk like people?

Ask Us Anything by Popular Science · Apr 30, 2026 · 15m

So many shouting and singing birds in this episode, as PopSci Editor ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sarah Durn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Editor-in-Chief ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Annie Colbert⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ flap their way to an explanation for why birds learn to mimic human speech.

Read the Popular Science story that inspired the episode: ⁠https://www.popsci.com/environment/why-birds-talk/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about how parrots use names to talk to each other: ⁠https://www.popsci.com/environment/parrots-using-names/⁠

If you have a question for a future episode, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://popsci.com/ask⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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