This high-pitched, rapid peeping is the “heat call” of Australian zebra finches. It spurs their unhatched babies’ brains to change how they move blood around. This might reduce the hatchlings’ risk of heat stroke — and lasts the birds’ entire life.

“Some of the consequences of [the call] are permanent. The birds will choose warmer nest sites as adults if they are exposed to heat calls as embryos,” says study author Julia George. “And they will produce more offspring in those warmer environments.”

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behavioral ecologist: A scientist who studies how animal behavior relates to where animals live.

biology: The study of living things. The scientists who study them are known as biologists.

birds: Warm-blooded dinosaurs with wings that first showed up at least 150 million years ago. Birds are jacketed in feathers and produce young from the eggs they deposit in some sort of nest. Most birds fly, but throughout history there have been the occasional species that don’t.

blood vessel: A tubular structure that carries blood through the tissues and organs.

cell: (in biology) The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. Typically too small to see with the unaided eye, it consists of a watery fluid surrounded by a membrane or wall. Depending on their size, animals are made of anywhere from thousands to trillions of cells.

cones: (in biology) A type of eye cell that is part of the retina inside the back of the eye. These cells can sense red, green or blue light. Recent research has uncovered evidence that many can sense white light — but only white light.

development: (in biology) The growth of an organism from conception through adulthood, often undergoing changes in chemistry, size and sometimes even shape. (in economics and social sciences) The conversion of land from its natural state into another so that it can be used for housing, agriculture, or resource development.  (in engineering) The growth or change of something from an idea to a prototype.

DNA: (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, double-stranded and spiral-shaped molecule inside most living cells that carries genetic instructions. It is built on a backbone of phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon atoms. In all living things, from plants and animals to microbes, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make.

ecologist: A scientist who works in a branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.

embryo: The early stages of a developing organism, or animal with a backbone, consisting of only one or a few cells. As an adjective, the term would be embryonic — and could be used to refer to the early stages or life of a system or technology.

environment: The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or the process and the condition those things create. Environment may refer to the weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature and humidity (or even the placement of things in the vicinity of an item of interest).

evolutionary: An adjective that refers to changes that occur within a species over time as it adapts to its environment. Such evolutionary changes usually reflect genetic variation and natural selection, which leave a new type of organism better suited for its environment than its ancestors. The newer type is not necessarily more “advanced,” just better adapted to the conditions in which it developed.

function: The specific role some structure or device plays. (in math) A relationship between two or more variables in which one variable (the dependent one) is exactly determined by the value of the other variables.

gene: (adj. genetic) A segment of DNA that codes, or holds instructions, for a cell’s production of a protein. Offspring inherit genes from their parents. Genes influence how an organism looks and behaves.

genetic: Having to do with chromosomes, DNA and the genes contained within DNA. The field of science dealing with these biological instructions is known as genetics. People who work in this field are geneticists.

gull: A family of long-winged and relatively thick-bodied shoreline birds. Most are gray and white with webbed feet. They tend to be very vocal.

heat stroke: A dangerous illness that can result from prolonged heat exposure. Symptoms tend to include dry skin and a fast heartbeat. Sufferers also may feel dizzy, nauseated and confused. Heat stroke can be fatal.

hypothalamus: A brain region that controls bodily functions by releasing hormones. The hypothalamus is involved in regulating appetite through release of appetite-suppressing hormones.

metabolism: (adj. metabolic)  The set of life-sustaining chemical reactions that take place inside cells and bigger structures, such as organs. These reactions enable organisms to grow, reproduce, move and otherwise respond to their environments.

molecule: A group of atoms that represents the smallest possible amount of a chemical compound. Molecules can be made of single types of atoms or of different types. For example, the oxygen in air is made of two bound oxygen atoms (O₂). Water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (H₂O).

neuroscientist: Someone who studies the structure or function of the brain and other parts of the nervous system.

predator: (adjective: predatory) A creature that preys on other animals for most or all of its food.

recall: To remember.

RNA: A molecule that helps “read” the genetic information contained in DNA. A cell’s molecular machinery reads DNA to create RNA, and then reads RNA to create proteins.

system: A network of parts that together work to achieve some function. For instance, the blood, vessels and heart are primary components of the human body's circulatory system. Similarly, trains, platforms, tracks, roadway signals and overpasses are among the potential components of a nation's railway system. System can even be applied to the processes or ideas that are part of some method or ordered set of procedures for getting a task done.

weather: Conditions in the atmosphere at a localized place and a particular time. It is usually described in terms of particular features, such as air pressure, humidity, moisture, any precipitation (rain, snow or ice), temperature and wind speed. Weather constitutes the actual conditions that occur at any time and place. It’s different from climate, which is a description of the conditions that tend to occur in some general region during a particular month or season.

Jake Buehler is a freelance science writer, covering natural history, wildlife conservation and Earth's splendid biodiversity, from salamanders to sequoias. He has a master's degree in zoology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.