Owls hoot and geese honk, but the black Jacobin hummingbird sounds like a cricket. The Brazilian bird's song is so high-pitched that neuroscientist Claudio Mello didn't even realize at first that a ...

Claudio Mello was conducting research in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest about 20 years ago when he heard a curious sound. It was high-pitched and reedy, like a pin scratching metal. A cricket? A tree frog?

One of the first signs of spring are the sounds of birds chirping in search of food, nesting grounds, and a potential mate. But sometimes those bird calls aren’t coming from the source you’d expect.