Biologist Roger Payne is best known for his discovery (with Scott McVay) that whales sing songs. In 1970, he released an LP called "Songs of the Humpback Whale.” It played a key role in igniting the ...

A study published in Scienc on humpback whale songs has provided remarkable insights into the nature of nonhuman animal communication, revealing a striking similarity between whale songs and human ...

Language has long been seen as a defining trait of human intelligence. Unlike the communication systems of other species, ...

A hungry whale is a quiet whale. A new first-of-its kind study found the marine mammals vocalized less after a marine heat wave decimated their prey, making whale songs a barometer of the effects of ...

Team Common is taking some time off to rest and recover over the holidays. In the meantime, we’re sharing some of our favorite stories from WBUR’s newsroom in 2022. When the album “Songs of the ...

Songs have lowered in frequency, in part because of changes to ocean water. Whales in the ocean around Antarctica are changing their tune, according to a new study. Publishing their findings in the ...

All animals communicate - cats meow, dogs bark and birds sing. Whales use moans, snores, chirps and cries that are known as whale song. And now, a new study has found that whale song is more similar ...

There I was, idly researching cetaceans on the company dime, when I came across Songs of the Humpback Whale. Released 55 years ago this month, this album of whale songs remains the bestselling ...

Payne saw the discovery of whale song as a chance to spur interest in saving the giant animals, who were disappearing from the planet. File photo: Roger Payne attends the Raw for the Oceans ...

Ellen Garland received funding from the following grants for this work: Royal Society University Research Fellowship (UF160081 and URF\R\221020), Royal Society Research Fellows Enhancement Award ...