University Place Recording: “Why Do Birds Sing?”

PBS Wisconsin’s University Place will record “Why Do Birds Sing?,” a presentation by Lauren Riters, Professor of Animal Behavior, Neuroscience and Physiology in the Department of Integrative Biology at UW–Madison. This free event is hosted by Badger Talks and the Monona Senior Center.

Scientists have known how birds sing for decades, but why they sing is still a puzzle. Do they sing for pleasure? For love? To mark a territory? And how do birds know when and what to sing? This talk will explore these questions and also address what birds learn by listening to songs.

Lauren Riters is a Professor in the area of Behavioral Neuroscience in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She received a PhD in Psychology in the Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Program at Bowling Green State University where she studied how birds migrate and return home from distant locations. This was followed by postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Liege in Belgium and at The Johns Hopkins University where she began to study how and why birds sing.

Event Date: Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2025

Event Time: 10:00 a.m.

Location:
Monona Senior Center
1011 Nichols Rd
Monona, Wis.

*Event is free to attend. Please register by calling the Monona Senior Center at 608-222-3415 and get more event information on the University of Wisconsin-Madison events calendar.