Neotropical wrens learn new duet rules as adults.

ABSTRACT: Although song development in songbirds has been much studied as an analogue of language development in humans, the development of vocal interaction rules has been relatively neglected in both groups. Duetting avian species provide an ideal model to address the acquisition of interaction rules as duet structure involves time and pattern-specific relationships among the vocalizations from different individuals. In this study, we address the development of the most striking properties of duets: the specific answering rules that individuals use to link their own phrase types to those of their partners (duet codes) and precise temporal coordination. By performing two removal experiments in canebrake wrens (Cantorchilus zeledoni), we show that individuals use a fixed phrase repertoire to create

SUBMITTER: Rivera-Caceres KD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5136587 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature