Special Issue: Mechanisms & FunctionBirdsong learning as a social process
Section snippets
Background and methods
The song sparrow is a common species found throughout North America. Song sparrows have the most genetically distinct populations of any bird in North America. We are studying a subspecies (M. m. morphna) found in the Pacific Northwest. The total number of subspecies of song sparrow is much debated, but the most recent study puts the number at 25 (Patten & Pruett, 2009). This context must be kept in mind, since, as will be discussed later, there may be significant biological differences between
Song learning in western song sparrows
By a combination of field and laboratory studies, we have tried to characterize the song-learning strategy of song sparrows in our population. Note that in the following I use the word ‘tutor’ merely to designate an older bird from whom the young bird has learned songs (or could have potentially learned songs). The use of this term is not meant to imply that the tutor intended to teach the young bird songs, or that he benefited in some way by doing so. The focus here is primarily on the young
A Song-learning Strategy?
In summary, our field and laboratory studies taken together suggest that in his first year, a male song sparrow pursues a song-learning strategy correlated with his strategy of establishing and maintaining a territory. The young bird disperses from his natal area at about 30 days of age and moves to an area occupied by adult song sparrows. Adults sing until late July, when they go into moult and are silent for about a month; they resume singing in September, although at a much lower rate. Most
Acknowledgments
This paper is dedicated to the memory of Peter Marler, a true giant in the field of animal behaviour, and an inspiration for all researchers studying birdsong and the function and mechanisms of animal behaviour more generally. The published research from our group reviewed in this paper was conducted in accordance with the ASAB/ABS Guidelines for the treatment of animals in behavioural research and teaching, and with approval from the University of Washington Institutional Animal Care and Use
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