Did you catch what just came out of that critter's mouth? What does it all mean?!
Listen, and listen closely. NPR has been decoding the rich, sonic communication between living creatures: the songs of whales, the call of a cricket, the chirp of a treehopper (a cousin of the cicada). And now you can tune into this wild world of "unheard" conversations.
Airing on Morning Edition every Thursday throughout the summer, NPR's Close Listening: Decoding Nature Through Sound series follows Science correspondent Chris Joyce and Bill McQuay of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as they introduce us to the researchers who had the imagination to listen when others heard nothing. Together they unfold how humans can comprehend the "unheard" sounds that sustain the existence of life on this planet.
Of course, the real cat's meow is reserved for NPR's closest listeners.
Interested in identifying your chattiest local critters and eavesdropping on what they're yakking about**? Capture the mysterious sounds of the creatures you're hearing and send us the audio file. With some help from researchers at Cornell University's Macaulay Library, we'll pinpoint who and what you're listening to.
**Although the sound of your own flatulence can be deliciously fascinating, resist the urge to record it. That means you, Dad.
After all, whether you're a night owl looking to sympathize with those crack-of-dawn bird calls or a beach bum jolted by that brassy seal bark, it's good to be a human who knows how to listen.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
