Spoken language as well as music are considered uniquely human traits but
share a number of striking parallels with birdsong. Comparing the
biologically tractable cognitive abilities necessary for language, music
and birdsong is a fruitful endeavor to identify which properties are shared
and which are unique to each. I will start with an attempt to disambiguate
and operationally define different key aspects of language, music and
birdsong, addressing structural and functional aspects. I will then review
some of our recent behavioural data on rhythm, ‘syntax’ and multimodal
communication in songbirds. I will end by briefly highlighting the neural
and molecular similarities underlying human speech and birdsong, including
our findings on the relevance of the FoxP2 gene for both.