Vocal dialects in parrots: patterns and processes of cultural evolution.

ABSTRACT: Vocal dialects have fascinated biologists for over 50 years. This mosaic pattern of geographic variation in learned vocalizations was first described in a songbird, and since that time, most studies investigating dialects have focused on songbird species. Here we examine patterns of geographic variation in the calls of a different group of vocal learning birds, the parrots (Order Psittaciformes). We summarize the growing literature on vocal variation in parrots, and complement this review with a survey of variation in the genus Amazona using calls from sound libraries. We find strikingly similar patterns to those previously found in songbirds. Over 90% of parrots examined in the literature, and 69% of Amazona species surveyed, showed geographic variation consistent with a pro

SUBMITTER: Wright TF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6020700 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature