
From Babbling to Birdsong: What Finches Can Teach Us About Vocal Learning
This article by Kelly Shen '23 was one of the top 11 winners of the New York Times's "The Learning Network" competition— the second annual STEM Writing Contest. The photo is from the New York Times article where it was published. This is a huge accomplishment and we thought it would be fitting to include it in the Quad for those who haven't seen it online! Imagine listening to Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro,” as performed by a two-month-old baby, or Bizet’s “Habanera” crooned by a toddler. In some sense, that is what you hear when a baby finch practices…