Research in the Wright Lab focuses on the function, evolution and underlying mechanisms of learned vocal signals in birds. Across the animal kingdom, the ability to learn vocal communication signals is restricted to a few evolutionarily distinct groups (songbirds, hummingbirds and parrots among birds; humans, bats and whales among mammals). Parrots, in particular, are renowned for their vocal mimicry abilities in captivity, but less is known about how learning is used in the wild. Thus they present exciting opportunities for understanding how learning shapes communication behavior, how the function of learned vocalizations might differ between species, and how the underlying neural and endocrine mechanisms have evolved. 

These core interests have expanded through the years to encompass a variety of related topics including phylogenetic relationships in parrots, the evolution of long lifespans and advanced cognitive abilities, and the role of behavioral flexibility in species invasions and conservation. My students, collaborators and I approach these questions using a broad range of approaches including field observations, sound analysis, captive behavior studies, neural gene expression, interspecific comparisons, and molecular genetics. Students in my lab make use of these techniques or adopt new ones as appropriate to investigate their own questions in avian behavior and evolution.