• Question: Do male birds go through puberty? If so, do their voices break?

    Asked by Odobenus rosmarus to Rupert on 16 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Rupert Marshall

      Rupert Marshall answered on 16 Mar 2017:

      Some birds are not able to breed for several years after they hatch. But their “voice” does not break – they may improve their song by learning new trills and whistles but it won’t suddenly become lower. Most garden birds we see in Britain start breeding the first spring after they hatch. Some learn their song from songs they hear, others inherit a fixed song, others have a mixture.

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