December 30, 2014

I know how the drunk bird sings: Like a drunk.

"We just showed up in the morning and mixed a little bit of juice with 6 percent alcohol, and put it in their water bottles and put it in the cages." 
"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. But they seem to tolerate it pretty well and be somewhat willing to consume it."...

Listen to the audio, and you'll hear that the finches' song gets a bit quieter and just a little slurred, or as [neuroscientis Christopher] Olson puts it, "a bit less organized in their sound production"...

15 comments:

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I know how the drunk bird sings: Like a drunk.

Listen to the audio, and you'll hear that the finches' song gets a bit quieter...

You haven't been around many drunks, have you?

Laslo Spatula said...

Drunk birds. Wait until the male Frat finches show up. Finch Culture.

I am Laslo.

traditionalguy said...

This is so stupid. So where are the control flock? Has this test been duplicated?

Does PETA know what they are doing to animals for the fun of it?

OK, try it on a big green and yellow talking parrot that cusses a lot and that could be a breakthrough in man's useful knowledge base...and a better video too.

Gahrie said...

Just how many of my tax dollars went to pay for this?

Meade said...

OLSON: "Yeah, and actually that'll be an important next direction that we want to take this research."

A little more "research" and he should soon have those female finches taking off their tops.

I am not Laslo.

MadisonMan said...

Agree with trad guy -- where is the control in this experiment?

The underlying assumption in the entire article is that undergrads drink, so I assume the author was a big drunk while matriculating.

MadisonMan said...

Here's the article, by the way. There does seem to be a control group.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

How is this ethical?

MadisonMan said...

John Lynch: From the article: All research was approved by the Oregon Health and Science University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (protocol no. IS2313).

You know, if a Committee approves it, it has to be okay!

Ann Althouse said...

"A little more "research" and he should soon have those female finches taking off their tops."

Forget the finches. What he needs are tits.

Gahrie said...

Forget the finches. What he needs are tits.

Or Boobies....

Gahrie said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booby

JT said...

I want that 4 minutes and 11 seconds of my life back.

ken in tx said...

Birds get drunk in the natural world. China berries ferment on the tree. It's very common to see birds get drunk after eating them. They fly erratically. They will fly into your house if you let them. I have never listened to their songs at that time.

Due Diligentsia said...

Thought I'd surely be clicking on a TPM article excoriating a supposed-Tea-Partier for animal cruelty. Nope, it's NPR, promoting cocktails for finches.

Oh isht, there's the doorbell. CPS must be here to accuse me of alcohol and child abuse because my toddler slurs her words.