Song Learning in Cross-Fostered Zebra Finches: a Re-Examination of the Sensitive Phase

Behaviour ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 102 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 67-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.S. Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Young Bird ◽  
Sensitive Phase ◽  
Foster Father

AbstractMale zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, which have been normally-raised or cross-fostered to Bengalese finches, Lonchura striata, learn from a song tutor with whom they arc housed during the sensitive phase, between 35 to 70 days of age. If the tutor is a different species from the father or foster-father however, then the tendency to learn during this time is much less and some males will produce song heard before 35 days. None of the birds in this study learnt after 70 days, although some lost song elements or added improvised ones. These results suggests that specific types of experience influence when a young bird learns its song. It seems that exposure to "poor" song during the sensitive phase stimulates the bird to remember song heard previously and blocks further learning after this time. These results are compared with those obtained in imprinting studies.

The Role of Aggression in Song Tutor Choice in the Zebra Finch: Cause or Effect?

Behaviour ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 133 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 103-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.E. Jones ◽  
P.J.B. Slater
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Relative Level ◽  
Young Bird ◽  
Sensitive Phase

AbstractYoung male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) normally copy their song from one tutor when given a choice of two. Interaction is known to be a key feature of the learning process and this study examines the way in which one particular type of social behaviour, aggression, may affect tutor choice. Female raised zebra finches were given a choice of two song tutors, which had been pre-selected for differing levels of aggression, during the sensitive phase for song learning. A young bird was significantly more likely to learn from the tutor that was more aggressive to him, as found earlier by Clayton (1987). In addition, behavioural observations suggest that aggression towards the young bird was the cause rather than an effect of tutor choice. There was no significant relationship between the relative level of tutor aggression and the amount of his song copied. Changes in the level of aggression over the tutoring period are also discussed.

Do Contingencies with Tutor Behaviour Influence Song Learning in Zebra Finches?

Behaviour ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 135 (5) ◽  
pp. 599-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart Houx ◽  
Carel Ten Cate
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Sensitive Phase ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Juvenile Males

AbstractSocial interaction with a song tutor is often found to be important for the song learning process in songbirds, but the mechanism is still unclear. The main aim of this study is to find indications for contingencies between singing and interactive behaviours, between and within tutors and tutees, which might influence the song learning process of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). To this end we observed the interactions of eleven juvenile zebra finch males with their fathers (the tutors) and their mothers during the sensitive phase for song learning, and examined four different types of possible contingencies. The evidence for these contingencies was not very strong: (1) We found some weak indications that a tutee can anticipate tutor song by preceding tutor behaviour. There were no indications that (2) tutor song is contingent upon subsequent behaviour of the tutor, that (3) juvenile males can control singing of their tutor by preceding operant social behaviour, or that (4) social behaviour of the tutor reinforces singing of the tutee. We found some indications that the juvenile males attend actively to the tutor song. Furthermore, we found that the juvenile males maintained more mutual interactions with their father than with their mother. In general, we did not find any clear relationship between aspects of social interaction and song copying in zebra finches.

The Effects of Cross-Fostering On Selective Song Learning in Estrildid Finches

Behaviour ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 109 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 163-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.S. Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Bengalese Finch ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Foster Father ◽  
Cross Fostering ◽  
Specific Learning

AbstractMale zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, which have been cross-fostered to Bengalesc finches, Lonchura striata, learn Bengalese finch song elements with as much accuracy as a male learning from his natural father. However, these elements are sung in phrases which are more nearly zebra finch length and lack the repetitiveness typical of the elements in a Bengalese finch phrase. Male Bengalese finches are also capable of learning song from a zebra finch foster-father. Males vary substantially but they tend to produce fewer, more widely spaced zebra finch elements in a Bengalese finch-length phrase. Both species show selective song learning and it is suggested that phrase length and the absence or presence of repeated elements might act as important cues for species-specific learning. Cross-fostered Bengalese finches seem to learn less than cross-fostered zebra finches: possible reasons for this are discussed.

Practice and Song Development in Zebra Finches

Behaviour ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 135 (8) ◽  
pp. 1125-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Sensitive Phase ◽  
Song Development ◽  
Very High

AbstractMale zebra finches reared by both parents were placed in isolation from day 35 to day 70 of life, the sensitive phase for song learning, and exposed to a singing adult male thereafter. Half the birds were stimulated to practice by a tape of birdroom noise during their period in isolation, and the practice of all birds was monitored. Those that were stimulated did practice more during the period when the tape was on, but the overall amount of practice in both groups was very high, rising to occur in 60-80% of all 10 min monitoring sessions after 50 days of age. Individual differences were considerable. In the unstimulated group, there was some suggestion that birds which practised more had achieved greater song stereotypy on one measure by day 70. However, the hypothesis that birds which practised more would be more likely to develop copies of their fathers' songs was not supported. Instead, the final song of birds in both groups was clearly based on that of the tutor introduced at 70 days. While the results point to a great deal of practice by young zebra finches, they do not suggest that greater practice leads to earlier crystallisation of song or increases the likelihood of copying songs heard earlier.

Song Tutor Choice in Zebra Finches and Bengalese Finches: the Relative Importance of Visual and Vocal Cues

Behaviour ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 104 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 281-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.S. Clay-Ton
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
The Other ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Bengalese Finch ◽  
Vocal Cues ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Zebra Finch Song

AbstractThis paper examined the relative importance of visual and vocal cues for song tutor choice. In the first study zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, and Bengalese finches, Lonchura striata, were housed with two song tutors at independence, a zebra finch singing Bengalese finch song and a Bengalese finch singing zebra finch song. All the males tended to learn from the conspecific song tutor, irrespective of whether they had been raised by a pair of conspecifics, the female alone or cross-fostered to a pair of the other species. In the second study zebra finches were housed at independence with two conspecific song tutors, one with a normal song and one which sang Bengalese finch song elements. There was no tendency to learn zebra finch elements which suggests that species-specific elements are not important for song tutor choice in zebra finches. Other vocal differences between the tutors such as length of the song phrase and species-specific call notes might bias learning in favour of the conspecific. Visual differences between the two species, both in appearance and behaviour, seem to be important. Parental cues before independence appear to be relatively uninfluential. However, siblings may be important, both the species and number per clutch: this is a factor which has been overlooked in previous studies of song learning.

scholarly journals The interplay of within-species perceptual predispositions and experience during song ontogeny in zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata )

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1796) ◽  
pp. 20141860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sita M. ter Haar ◽  
Wiebke Kaemper ◽  
Koen Stam ◽  
Clara C. Levelt ◽  
Carel ten Cate
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Common Elements ◽  
Juvenile Male ◽  
Young Infants ◽  
Perceptual Preferences ◽  
Zebra Finch Song

Vocal acquisition in songbirds and humans shows many similarities, one of which is that both involve a combination of experience and perceptual predispositions. Among languages some speech sounds are shared, while others are not. This could reflect a predisposition in young infants for learning some speech sounds over others, which combines with exposure-based learning. Similarly, in songbirds, some sounds are common across populations, while others are more specific to populations or individuals. We examine whether this is also due to perceptual preferences for certain within-species element types in naive juvenile male birds, and how such preferences interact with exposure to guide subsequent song learning. We show that young zebra finches lacking previous song exposure perceptually prefer songs with more common zebra finch song element types over songs with less common elements. Next, we demonstrate that after subsequent tutoring, birds prefer tutor songs regardless of whether these contain more common or less common elements. In adulthood, birds tutored with more common elements showed a higher song similarity to their tutor song, indicating that the early bias influenced song learning. Our findings help to understand the maintenance of similarities and the presence of differences among birds' songs, their dialects and human languages.

Song Learning in Zebra Finches Exposed to a Series of Tutors during the Sensitive Phase

Ethology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. B. Slater ◽  
C. Richards ◽  
N. I. Mann
Keyword(s):  
Song Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Sensitive Phase

Birdsong learning in the laboratory, with especial reference to the song of the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Derégnaucourt
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Social Influences ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Speech Development ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Young Bird ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages

Vocal imitation in songbirds exhibits interesting parallels to infant speech development and is currently the model system of choice for exploring the behavioural, molecular and electrophysiological substrates of vocal learning. Among songbirds, the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is currently used as the ‘flying mouse’ of birdsong research. Only males sing and they develop their song primarily during a short sensitive period in early life. They learn their speciesspecific song patterns by memorizing and imitating the songs of conspecifics, mainly adults. Since Immelmann's pioneering work, thousands of zebra finches have been raised in strictly controlled auditory environments to examine how their experience affected their songs. In this article, I review the different experimental procedures that have been used in the laboratory to study the social influences on song learning in the Zebra Finch. Poor song learning was observed using passive playback of taped songs, whereas self-eliciting exposure using operant tutoring techniques induced significant learning, but with a high interindividual variability. The success of the training paradigm is often measured by the quality of imitation of the songs to which the young bird is exposed. Using empirical evidence from the field and the laboratory, I will also discuss this issue, by summarizing possible advantages and disadvantages of producing a perfect imitation. So far, the best method to get a close copy of a song model in the Zebra Finch is to place a single young bird with an adult male. This situation, which is rather unnatural, does not meet the criteria for precise control necessary in experimental conditions. Optimizing the methods used to train a zebra finch to learn a song, in order to be able to predict the imitation success, will improve our understanding of the dynamics of vocal production learning. It would also consolidate this species as a research model of relevance to human speech development and disorders. Keywords: Zebra Finch; birdsong; learning; development; memory; social influences

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