Drunk Birds Slur Their Songs Like Humans Slur Their Words

Humans aren't the only ones who slur their speech when they're buzzed. Scientists have discovered that drunk birds have the same problem. It turns out that zebra finches slur their songs when they're under the influence.

In order to test the birds, the researchers mixed a bit of juice with six percent alcohol. They then put this mixture in the birds' water bottles placed within the cages where the birds were housed. After drinking, the birds had blood alcohol levels that were .05 to .08 percent. While this isn't much for a human, birds metabolize alcohol differently. This means that the levels were plenty to produce the effects that the scientists wanted to study.

So what happened? The researchers found that the birds sang more quietly and that their songs became "slurred," according to NPR. In other words, the bids became a bit less organized in their sound production.

The researchers aren't done with their studies yet, either. The scientists want to find out whether alcohol affects how birds learn new songs-not just how they sing songs that they already know.

The findings reveal that alcohol doesn't just impact humans; it can also affect other species. This, in turn, reveals a bit more about the effects of alcohol.

Want to learn more? Listen to the audio recordings of the birds on NPR's website.

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