scholarly journals Stabilization of Sexual Preferences By Sexual Experience in Male Zebra Finches Taeniopygia Guttata Castanotis

Behaviour ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 118 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 144-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicky Clayton ◽  
Hans-Joachim Bischof
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Sexual Partner ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Sexual Preferences ◽  
Bengalese Finch ◽  
Choice Tests

AbstractMale zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata castanotis, were normally-raised by zebra finches or were cross-fostered to Bengalese finch, Lonchura striata, foster-parents until 40 days of age. Following isolation until day 100, half the birds in each group were housed with a zebra finch female for seven days, isolated for three days and then housed with a Bengalese finch female for seven days. The other birds were exposed to females in the reverse order. Subsequent double-choice tests showed that all the normally-raised birds preferred zebra finch females whereas the preferences of cross-fostered males depended on the order of exposure to the two females: those exposed first to a Bengalese finch female preferred Bengalese finch females whereas of those exposed first to a zebra finch female, some preferred zebra finches, some preferred Bengalese finches and some showed no marked preference for either female. In order to examine the question of why the latter group showed such marked individual variation in their sexual preferences, a further group of males were cross-fostered to Bengalese finches and exposed to a zebra finch female and then to a Bengalese finch female and their behaviours were observed from day 21 until day 40 and for the two, seven-day periods with the females. The results show that, when comparing brothers within clutches, the one that begs and is fed more by by its foster-parents develops a stronger preference for Bengalese finch females and that the more song phrases a male directs to the zebra finch female during the first seven-day period, the stronger the sexual preference for zebra finch females in the double-choice tests. Hence, our results confirm and extend those of IMMELMANN et al. (1991) and KRUIJT & MEEUWISSEN (1991) that sexual imprinting may be a two step process. As a first step, information about the parents is learnt during a sensitive period early in life. In a second step, this information has to be tested for its validity for the selection of a sexual partner during first courtship encounters. It is this second step where the previously stored information is stabilized in memory. Giving conflicting information during the first and the second step, one can show that interactions between the young male and its parents as well as with its first sexual partner influence the final preference it shows in subsequent double choice tests.

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.

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.

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.

Sexual Preferences of Female Zebra Finches: Imprinting On Beak Colour

Behaviour ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 128 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 15-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ratcliffe ◽  
P. Boag ◽  
S. Shackleton ◽  
R. Weisman ◽  
D. Weary
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Early Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Sexual Preferences ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Sexual Imprinting ◽  
Parental Characteristics ◽  
Choice Tests

AbstractSexual preferences of adult zebra finches are influenced by early learning of parental characteristics. We studied how imprinting affects the preference of female zebra finches for male beak colour. The beaks of male and female parents were painted, 2-3 days before hatch and thereafter until the young were fledged, as follows: male red, female orange (R-O group); male orange, female red (O-R group); both male and female red (R-R group); or both male and female orange (O-O group). Females were raised by painted parents until 35 days, then visually isolated from other birds until test at 100 days. In 4-way choice tests using red- and orange-painted stimulus males, females from Groups O-R and R-O chose males with beaks painted the same colour as their father's beak, whereas females from Groups R-R and O-O did not. We conclude that preference for male beak colour was acquired only by females reared by parents with unlike, discriminative, beak colours. The results suggest an associative learning basis for sexual imprinting.

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.

scholarly journals Playback of colony sound alters the breeding schedule and clutch size in zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ) colonies

2005 ◽  
Vol 272 (1561) ◽  
pp. 383-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R. Waas ◽  
Patrick W. Colgan ◽  
Peter T. Boag
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Intermediate Level ◽  
Breeding Systems ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Social Stimulation ◽  
Colonial Breeding

The hypothesis that social stimulation, derived from the presence and activities of conspecifics, can hasten and synchronize breeding in colonies of birds was tested. A modified playback/recorder system was used to continuously exaggerate the amount of colony sound available to zebra finches throughout their courtship period. Males that heard ‘sound supplements’ generated from their own colony sang more than males in control colonies that did not receive playback; males that heard samples from a different colony, sang at an intermediate level. Females that were exposed to the vocalizations of their mate and playback from a colony other than their own, laid eggs earlier and more synchronously than females in control colonies. Females that heard the vocalizations of their mate along with playback samples generated from their own colony, laid eggs more synchronously but not earlier than control females. Both acoustic treatments caused females to lay larger clutches. Social stimulation influences the breeding schedule and clutch size in zebra finch colonies. If there are advantages associated with these effects, social stimulation may contribute to the maintenance of colonial breeding systems.

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.

Use of Space in Open Field by Zebra Finches

1992 ◽  
Vol 75 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1127-1133 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Rifá ◽  
Y. Alonso ◽  
J. E. Ortega ◽  
J. M. Naranjo
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Open Field ◽  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
General Activity ◽  
Spatial Variables ◽  
Novel Environment ◽  
Use Of Space

This paper is a descriptive study of the spatial preferences of the zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata, when exposed to a novel environment. 18 subjects were observed in a cubic open field of 1 × 1 × 1 m during four 30-min. sessions. Two spatial variables were considered, height and center/periphery. Data show that birds did not position themselves randomly in the open field but chose more frequently the central and higher part of the enclosure and that general activity was greater when the animal was in the center rather than on the periphery. There were no sex differences in the height preferred, but females spent significantly more time in the center than did males. The type of activity engaged in by the birds was also important in relation to the place occupied.

Assortative mating in zebra finch subspecies, Taeniopygia guttata guttata and T. g. castanotis

1990 ◽  
Vol 330 (1258) ◽  
pp. 351-370 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Pair Formation ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
The Other ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Choice Tests ◽  
Subspecies Discrimination ◽  
Multiple Mate

There are two subspecies of the zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata guttata and Taeniopygia guttata castanotis. T. g. guttata is found on the Lesser Sunda islands in Indonesia and the males differ from their Australian counterparts, T. g. castanotis , in having a thinner breast-band and grey chin and throat instead of the black and white throat bars. The songs of male guttata are longer and sung at a higher frequency than those of male castanotis . In contrast to the substantial differences between the two subspecies, there is little geographic variation with subspecies. In a recent aviary study of the social interactions and pair formation between members of captive colonies of guttata and castanotis , members of the two subspecies were observed to mate assortatively, i.e. guttata and castanotis did not form mixed pairs (Böhner et al . 1984). This raises the question of which cues ensure that the two subspecies are behaviourally isolated and hence mate assortatively. In song playback experiments, females of both subspecies discriminated between guttata and castanotis songs, preferring the songs of males of their own subspecies. In multiple mate choice tests and observations of the same individuals during pair formation in aviaries, male and female guttata and castanotis were found to prefer members of their own subspecies. However, guttata males that were painted to resemble castanotis males were preferred by castanotis females over unpainted guttata males whereas guttata females preferred the unpainted guttata males. In the aviary, the castanotis females paired with painted guttata males and guttata females paired with unpainted guttata males. These findings suggest that differences between the two subspecies in both song and breast-band size could play a role in mate choice and subspecies discrimination, thus leading to assortative mating between the two subspecies in captivity. To assess the importance of early rearing experience on the development of these visual and vocal differences between the two subspecies and its effect on the development of sexual preferences, guttata and castanotis that had been cross-fostered to the other subspecies were compared with those that has been normally raised by members of their own species. When cross-fostered to the other subspecies, castanotis and guttata males resembled their own subspecies in the macrostructural features of song which distinguish the two subspecies' songs. Hybrid males that were raised by one guttata and one castanotis parent have songs that are intermediate between those of guttata and those of castanotis males. These results suggest that rearing experience has little, if any, effect on the development of these macrostructural song differences between the two subspecies. In playback experiments, females preferred the songs of their foster-father’s subspecies, irrespective of whether the songs were from males that had been cross-fostered or normally raised. This indicates that females use these macrostructural differences in song for subspecies discrimination and that female song preferences are learnt. Cross-fostered zebra finches resemble normally raised members of their own subspecies in size and plumage, and hybrids were intermediate. In multiple mate choice tests, females preferred normally raised birds of their own subspecies over those that had been cross-fostered and over those of the other subspecies. Since cross-fostered males do not appear to differ from normally raised birds of the same subspecies in plumage, size or song, these results suggest that females may discriminate between guttata and castanolis males on the basis of behavioural cues. Studies of multiple mate choice and pair formation showed that when both sexes were cross-fostered to the other subspecies mixed pairs ( guttata-castanotis ) were formed, suggesting that early experience with the foster-parents can have an influence on pair formation through sexual imprinting on the parents. However, when one sex is normally raised and the other is cross-fostered, the cross-fostered birds usually pair with members of their own subspecies. This indicates that the likelihood of pairing with the ‘wrong’ subspecies is reduced when cross-fostered individuals interact with members of their own subspecies. This would provide an adaptive mechanism for maintaining behavioural isolation between the two subspecies. Comparing the mate choice during one-way and two-way interaction suggests that normally raised zebra finches choose more often than cross-fostered birds and that, when both sexes are cross-fostered, the prerogative lies with the female.

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