Parental influence on begging call structure in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata): evidence of early vocal plasticity.

ABSTRACT: Begging calls are signals of need used by young birds to elicit care from adults. Different theoretical frameworks have been proposed to understand this parent-offspring communication. But relationships between parental response and begging intensity, or between begging characteristics and proxies of a young's need remain puzzling. Few studies have considered the adjustment of nestling begging features to previous experience as a possible explanation of these discrepancies. In this study, we tested the effect of a heterospecific rearing environment on individual developmental trajectories of the acoustic structure of nestling begging calls. Fifty-two zebra finch chicks were fostered either to Bengalese finch or to zebra finch parents, and begging calls were recorded at several stages of ne

SUBMITTER: Villain AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4680624 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature