A singing mouse trills in the cloud forest, declaring its presence. Photo: Bret Pasch

A harvest mouse pokes its nose out of a Ziploc bag. This mouse was caught in the mountains of Costa Rica. Photo: Tracy Burkhard

A grasshopper mouse howls in the desert evening. Photo: New Scientist

Tracy Burkhard (Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Graduate Program)

"As quiet as a mouse? (Not singing mice!)"

“As quiet as a mouse” refers to people who don’t make a peep–but contrary to the popular saying, many mice want to be heard, and some are actually quite loud! Mice–and mammals in general–use all kinds of vocal sounds to communicate with each other in a variety of contexts. How do mammals make vocalizations? What are mice are saying to each other? And can mice really sing? Come to this lecture to find out answers to these questions and more!

Science Under the Stars is a free, monthly public outreach lecture series founded and organized by graduate students in the Department of Integrative Biology at The University of Texas at Austin. Events are held outdoors at Brackenridge Field Laboratory, 2907 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin, Texas 78703. In the case of inclement weather, lectures are held indoors.

Here’s the schedule for this month’s event:

• 6:00 pm: Snacks and displays of local animals and plants found at Brackenridge Field Laboratory will be available.
• 6:30 pm: Kids activities start! Meet with our children’s division for fun activities designed for all ages.
• 7:00 pm: Settle in, because the talk begins now!
• 7:45 pm: Q&A with the speaker.