Dr Richard Wilson, director of Washington University's Genome Center and another senior researcher involved in the study said: "Now we can look deep into the genome, not just at the genes involved in vocal learning, but at the complex ways in which they are regulated There are layers and layers of complexity that we're just beginning to see. This information provides clues to how vocal learning occurs at the most basic molecular level in birds and in people."

Dr Carlos Botero, a specialist in animal communication from Duke University in the US said that this research is a step that will take us "a little bit closer to understanding the links between genes and behavior." He said, "These results should be appealing not only to those interested in the evolution of song or communication but also to anyone who has ever wondered how the tiny little molecules in our genes can ultimately influence what we are and what we are able to do."

Zebra finch expert Dr Simon Griffith of Macquarie University in Sydney says this bird is one of its kind to work upon. "It is one of the easiest birds in the world to work on in captivity," he says. "Australian wildlife is leading the world in genome decoding terms We've had the kangaroo, the platypus and now the zebra finch."

In the horizon is the sequencing of the parrot genome that is to be completed by the Washington University scientists in this project later this year.