Birds Of A Feather Sound Like Each Other

Scientists have found familial differences in the earliest vocal babblings of juvenile songbirds, suggesting a hereditary cause for these variances.

AsianScientist (Aug. 24, 2016) – Scientists in Japan have found familial differences in the earliest vocal babblings of juvenile songbirds, suggesting a possible genetic basis for the variations. Their work was published in Scientific Reports.

As human language and birdsong are both acquired through vocal practice, different patterns emerge among individuals. These distinctions play an important role in communication and identification. Until now, however, it was unclear how individual birds learned slightly different vocal patterns.

The research team from Hokkaido University uncovered variances in the earliest practice singing, known as subsong, of zebra finch juveniles, including different temporal patterns between individuals. These differences were found to be more pronounced among different families, and the differences persisted among the juvenile birds, even when they were deafened.

In experiments involving adoptive parents, the subsong of juveniles was unaffected by the singing of their adoptive guardians, lending further evidence to a hereditary cause for these variances.

The team is planning future studies to discern, for example, how individual differences formed during the early developmental period affect subsequent learning, and whether there are vocal patterns and tempi that are easy to learn.


The article can be found at: Sato et al. (2016) Familial Bias and Auditory Feedback Regulation of Vocal Babbling Patterns during Early Song Development.

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Source: Hokkaido University.
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