“Should auld acquaintance be (hiccup).” —A bird
To try to better understand humans' speech impairment after having a few too many, scientists let some birds drink the fowl equivalent of jungle juice to answer one question: Would it affect their vocals?
Researchers chose zebra finches (pictured above) as their subjects, mainly because the songbirds learn to communicate vocally similar to how we learn to talk — a trait that's been found in only a handful of other species, including some marine mammals and bats.
Raj Kamal/Raj Kamal
After feeding the finches juice with 6% alcohol in it, the birds' songs got a little wonky.
"At first we were thinking that they wouldn't drink on their own because, you know, a lot of animals just won't touch the stuff," lead researcher Christopher Olson told NPR's All Things Considered . "But they seem to tolerate it pretty well and be somewhat willing to consume it."
Wilamoyo/Wilamoyo
With their blood alcohol levels ranging from .05% to .08%, the finches appeared to be acting normal — that is, until they opened their beaks.
Though their motor functions were the same, their singing got quieter, and they were less able keep the structure of their song.
Jim Bendon / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: jim_bendon_1957
Wonder how good they'd be at texting.
You can listen to audio of the sloppy birds over at NPR.
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