Dawn is beckoned by choruses of birds all around the world, but we still don't understand why our avian neighbours insist on such a morning ruckus.

A new study, yet to be peer reviewed, explores this behavior in captive zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ), finding that the intensity of their singing could be driven by the hours of build-up in anticipation of sunrise.

In a well-lit lab, male zebra finches spontaneously sing hundreds of songs, but in complete darkness, they utter not a single peep. This had researchers wondering how the interplay between night and day affects the dawn chorus.

When sunrise was artificially delayed by three hours by keeping the lights off for longer in experiments, the rate of the finches' singing intensified and commenced sooner compared with non-del

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