The study of nightingale behavior revealed complex rules governing their singing duels.
During 'vocal duels', males do not simply shout over each other, but engage in a coordinated sequence, taking turns to respond to their opponent's songs with minimal pauses.
Scientists have found that nightingales avoid overlapping another's song by following the principle of 'do not interrupt', making their interaction similar to human conversation. Such coordination requires significant cognitive effort from the birds: they need to quickly process what they hear, predict the end of their opponent's phrase, and instantly formulate their own response.
This complex interactive singing likely serves to more accurately assess the strength and quality of the opponent, allowing them to avoid physical confrontation while simultaneously demonstrating to listening females not only the beauty of their voice but also the sharpness of their hearing.
