Woodpecker

Humans can recognize each other by voice alone. I sound different from other 60-Second Science reporters, for example. In fact, lots of nonhuman animals, of all types, use voices to distinguish [familiar:friendly] individuals...including frogs, fish, lemurs, and penguins.And that [unique:rare] audio fingerprint extends to a sound you may have heard in the forest on occasion: the drumming of a woodpecker. Researchers recorded [multiple:several] drum rolls, from 41 great spotted woodpeckers - colorful red, white and black birds - living in Polish forests. They then used audio software to analyze them.And they found that the length of the drumrolls and the spacing between beats varied enough from bird to bird to tell the woodpeckers apart by drumming alone. The study is in the journal PLOS ONE.The scientists say this fact might be useful to woodpeckers, in [identifying:recognising] each other.