learning program that ensures prompt and versatile vocal imitation

Here we show how a migratory songbird, the chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina), achieves prompt and precise vocal imitation. Juvenile chipping sparrow males develop five to seven potential precursor songs; the normal development of these songs requires intact hearing but not imitation from externa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2007-12, Vol.104 (51), p.20398-20403
Main Authors: Liu, Wan-chun, Nottebohm, Fernando
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult animals
Animal cognition
Animal communication
Animals
Biological Sciences
Bird migration
Bird songs
Birds
Breeding seasons
Discrimination Learning
Entropy
Male
Male animals
Ontogeny
Solmization
Sparrows
Sparrows - physiology
Spizella passerina
Syllables
Tutoring
Vocalization, Animal - physiology
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Summary:Here we show how a migratory songbird, the chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina), achieves prompt and precise vocal imitation. Juvenile chipping sparrow males develop five to seven potential precursor songs; the normal development of these songs requires intact hearing but not imitation from external models. The potential precursor songs conform with general species-typical song parameters but differ from the song of wild, adult territorial males. As chipping sparrow males return from migration to start their first breeding season, they settle close to an older adult. The young male then stops producing all but one of its precursor songs, retaining the one that most resembles that of its neighbor. This single song then becomes more variable and, in a matter of days, is altered to closely match the neighbor's song. This elegant solution ensures species specificity and promptness of imitation.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0710067104