Male white-crowned sparrows must learn to sing a particular dialect of the full song of their species. But this fact does not mean that genetic information present in the cells of white-crowned sparrows is irrelevant for the development of the bird's singing behavior. Why not? In this regard, remember that white-crown males can learn their species' song far more easily than the song of, say, the white-throated sparrow. What about the finding that white-crown males that hear white-crown song only during a 40 -day period early in life can nevertheless generate a complete song. although they do not start singing themselves for several months after their early exposure to a tutor's song?
Added by Tammy A.
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Male white-crowned sparrows must learn a particular dialect of the full song of their species. This indicates that there is a learning process involved in their singing behavior. Show more…
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If a male white-crowned sparrow is hatched and reared in isolation but allowed during a critical imprinting period (10 to 50 days after hatching) to hear the song of a male from a different sparrow species, then at maturity, the isolated white-crowned male will...
Madhur L.
In white-crowned sparrows, social experience exhibits a very strong influence over the development of singing patterns. What observation led to this conclusion? a. Birds learned to sing only when they were trained by other birds. b. The window in which birds learn from other birds is wider than that in which birds learn from tape recordings. c. Birds could learn different dialects only from other birds. d. Birds that learned to sing from a tape recorder could change their song when they listened to another bird.
Studies of birdsong in zebra finches showed that males appear to have "practice" (undirected) songs and performance" (directed) songs (see Figure 53.8). Field studies show that white-crowned sparrow song has local dialects and that the songs of male birds living only a few kilometers apart are distinguishable. Assuming whitecrowned sparrows, like zebra finches, have directed and undirected songs, what could be the adaptive significance of this "practice" versus "performance" behavior?
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