An ecologist marvels at animals that learn to eavesdrop.

All through college I resisted getting glasses, but I finally succumbed for my first field trip to Peru; I was determined to see everything. Upon arrival, however, I realized that good vision was scarcely enough. One morning, I walked through the forest with an ornithologist, the late Ted Parker, famed for having learned the songs of thousands of birds. Although we saw few of the singers, he knew the source of each fluted phrase, monotonous chant and raucous outburst.

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