Speaker: Prof Glen Chilton
Venue: The Botanic Suite, The Hilton Grosvenor, Gt Western Rd
Time: 7pm

The songs of birds have long inspired poets, musicians and young lovers. Birdsong has also inspired generations of scientists. Particularly intriguing are the parallels between the development of speech in humans and the acquisition of song by birds. What is the message in a song? Why do songbirds have regional song dialects? What happens to a young bird who never hears the song of an older bird? Why do some birds sing only a single song type while others have huge repertoires? After this talk, a walk in the woods will never quite be the same!

Glen is Professor of Biology at St. Mary's University College in Calgary, Canada. He has been studying the songs of birds for 19 years. This work has taken him to the wildest parts of western North America. He claims that he could be blindfolded and placed anywhere in British Columbia or Alberta, and tell you where he was by listening to the songs of birds. Our first, and long-awaited natural history topic. Come and find out why 'bird-brain' is not such an insult after all!

Professor Margaret (Mandy) R MacLean
Professor of Pulmonary Pharmacology
Room 417
West Medical Building
IBLS
phone + 44 141 330 4768
fax + 44 141 330 2923

For details of Cafe scientifique, see: http://www.cafescientifique.org/