In an online experiment, more than 4,000 people listened to mating calls from 16 different animal species and selected the sounds they found most pleasant. The analysis revealed that human listeners often preferred the same vocalizations that attract females in the wild. Interestingly, regular music lovers tended to agree with animal preferences more often than professional musicians and ornithologists.

Many male animals use complex acoustic signals to attract mates. Over 150 years ago, Charles Darwin suggested that humans and animals might share similar perceptions of beauty due to common evolutionary roots and comparable nervous system structures. Biologists have long described how female birds and insects choose specific song variants, but the hypothesis that humans and other species share aesthetic preferences had not been experimentally tested until now.

The study, published in the journal Science, included a database of 110 pairs of sounds produced by 16 species of vertebrates and invertebrates—from field crickets and frogs to canaries and mice. For each pair, female preferences were already known from previous observations. For example, female tungara frogs choose croaks with sharp clicks 84% of the time. A total of 4,196 volunteers from around the world participated in the experiment.

Participants were asked to listen to two audio recordings and select the one they found more pleasant. Nearly 50,000 responses were collected, along with reaction times. The results were then compared with animal preferences, and researchers analyzed the physical characteristics of the sound waves and reviewed participant questionnaires.

The overlap between human choices and animal preferences was 56.4% for sound pairs where animals showed a strong preference (at least a 2:1 ratio). When animal preference was especially pronounced (3:1), the agreement among humans reached nearly 60%. Participants also responded, on average, 51 milliseconds faster when choosing the sound preferred by animals compared to less attractive options.

Both humans and animals tended to favor sounds with acoustic embellishments—such as trills, clicks, and pops. Participants and animals also preferred the evolutionarily ancient chirping of crickets over the recently evolved "purring" found in some individuals. However, there were differences: people liked the songs of male zebra finches raised in isolation (who had not learned to sing from older birds), while female finches ignored these songs.

The study did not identify any universal acoustic features (such as pitch or tempo) that could clearly explain the overlap in preferences. Aesthetic taste turned out to be a complex, nonlinear system in both humans and animals.

Questionnaire analysis showed that the ability to identify birds by their calls or professional musical training did not improve understanding of animal preferences. The only significant factor was the amount of music a person listens to in daily life: avid music fans were more likely to share tastes with animals.

Human perception of sound attractiveness is based on biological mechanisms common to many species. Aesthetic preferences are shaped by similar principles in insects, amphibians, birds, and mammals. Despite differences in sensory systems, the basic principles for recognizing attractive sounds in the brain appeared in nature long before humans evolved.