The mechanics of animal vocalizations

[sucaeyl]

I was trying to find some documentation on the mechanics of animal vocalizations, e.g., a cat's meow, a bird's chirp or dog's bark, breaking them down into POA and MOA, as is done for human speech, but I could find nothing on the net. Do any of you know anything on this subject matter?

Moreover, I couldn't even find a cross section of animal vocal tracts, showing the tongue, palate, etc. Even a diagram like this would be helpful.

Thanks ZBB

[Bob Johnson]

To start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrinx_%28biology%29

We've had this thread a few times..

[sucaeyl]

To start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrinx_%28biology%29

We've had this thread a few times..

For some reason the search function didn't work. Thanks for the link.

EDIT: But this still is just one stub, of one class of animal, of one organ, on what should be a rather vast topic.

[Astraios]

For animals with a larynx, IIRC, it's just the same as humans, except their larynx is high up in their throat and moves down when they vocalize, unlike humans whose larynx is permanently lowered. Boring.

[Gojera]

My understanding is that birds and mammals have entirely different organs: birds have a syrinx, mammals have a larynx.A syrinx can do stuf like make two different sounds at the same time, or something. I don't know about reptiles and crocodiles.

Insects can make sounds very differently.

[sucaeyl]

My understanding is that birds and mammals have entirely different organs: birds have a syrinx, mammals have a larynx.A syrinx can do stuf like make two different sounds at the same time, or something. I don't know about reptiles and crocodiles.

Insects can make sounds very differently.

I believe insects use stridulation. I'm curious if most vertebrates have analogous structures to human speech organs.

[Rory]

I'm curious if most vertebrates have analogous structures to human speech organs.

Yes and no. The basic structure is the same - larynx and so on. However, many animals do not have the "crossed pipes" that humans have, and as a consequence only use their nose for breathing and their mouth for eating. This has an evolutionary advantage, as you can't choke to death. Most animals, also, do not have voluntary breath control. They have as much control over their breathing as you and I do over our heartbeats. This limits the potential for vocalization somewhat.