This National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) federal project grant of $380,480 awarded to Brown University will support research to uncover the neural basis of gestural communication in animals, with a focus on the drumming behavior of downy woodpeckers. The 3-year project will provide the principal investigator with training in cutting-edge neuroscience techniques to record brain activity in freely displaying and perceiving animals. The research aims to pioneer an understanding of the forebrain control of discrete movements that enable the woodpeckers' elaborate drumming displays, as well as how the auditory system processes these gestures. The project also includes plans to develop STEM educational programming for limited English proficiency high school students in Rhode Island. Subawards are planned as part of this grant.