Birdsong is the product of the controlled generation of sound embodied in a
neuromotor system. From a biophysical perspective, a natural question is
that of the difficulty of producing birdsong. To address this, we built a biomimetic syrinx consisting of a stretched simple rubber tube through which
air is blown, subject to localized mechanical squeezing with a linear actuator. A large static tension on the tube and small dynamic variations in the
localized squeezing allow us to control transitions between three states: a
quiescent state, a periodic state and a solitary wave state. The static load
brings the system close to threshold for spontaneous oscillations, while
small dynamic loads allow for rapid transitions between the states. We use
this to mimic a variety of birdsongs via the slow– fast modulated nonlinear
dynamics of the physical substrate, the syrinx, regulated by a simple controller. Finally, a minimal mathematical model of the system inspired by our
observations allows us to address the problem of song mimicry in an
excitable oscillator for tonal songs