Birds Also Use FoxP2

Finches. Click to hear the two male finches, a zebra finch and a society finch, singing. It seems they need a properly functioning FoxP2 gene to learn their songs, just as humans need the gene to master articulate speech.

The FoxP2 gene is the only genetic basis of speech yet identified, although exactly what it contributes has remained a mystery. Without a normal FoxP2 gene people do not articulate their words well and also have some problems with syntax. It turns out that songbirds also require a properly functioning FoxP2 gene if they are to sing their song accurately and completely, says an article in the December PLoS Biology (available online here) by Constance Scharff and others. Thus, we at last have an experimental method of probing the role of FoxP2 in vocal development. Apparently the gene is important in helping young birds/people learn to imitate the sounds chirped/spoken around them.