Jan. 26, 2012 It comes as a surprise to many that male house
mice produce melodious songs to attract mates. Unfortunately for
us, because the melodies are in the ultra-sonic range human ears
cannot detect them. Through spectrographic analyses of the
vocalizations of wild house mice, researchers at the University
of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna have found that the songs of male
mice contain signals of individuality and kinship. Their results
appear in the journal Physiology & Behavior and in the Journal
of Ethology. It has been known for some time that house mice
(Mus musculus) produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) during
courtship but it has generally been assumed that these are no
more than squeaks. However, recent spectrographic analyses have
revealed that USVs are complex and show features of song.
Although the vocalizations are inaudible to human ears, when
playbacks of recorded songs are slowed down their similarity to
bird song becomes striking. Frauke Hoffmann, Kerstin Musolf and
Dustin Penn of the Un