ArticleFrontiers in psychology2016
Zebra Finch Song Phonology and Syntactical Structure across Populations and Continents-A Computational Comparison.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed.
- Variation in song structure does not predict associative learning performance in zebra finches (Taeniopygia castanotis) raised under controlled cultural conditions.Animal cognition · 2026Article
- A species rules syntax model accurately organizes birdsong syllables into songs.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- The zebra finch auditory cortex reconstructs occluded syllables in conspecific song.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Temporal organization of song modulates vocal learning.iScience · 2025Article
- Normative aging results in degradation of gene networks in a zebra finch basal ganglia nucleus dedicated to vocal behavior.Neurobiology of aging · 2025Article
- Detection of Individual Differences Encoded in Sequential Variations of Elements in Zebra Finch Songs.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- Bird song comparison using deep learning trained from avian perceptual judgments.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- Learning the sound inventory of a complex vocal skill via an intrinsic reward.Science advances · 2024Article
- Whistle repertoire and structure reflect ecotype distinction of pantropical spotted dolphins in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) demonstrate cognitive flexibility in using phonology and sequence of syllables in auditory discrimination.Animal cognition · 2023Article
- Machine learning and statistical classification of birdsong link vocal acoustic features with phylogeny.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Machine learning reveals cryptic dialects that explain mate choice in a songbird.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Evidence for cumulative cultural evolution in bird song.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2022Article
- Measuring context dependency in birdsong using artificial neural networks.PLoS computational biology · 2021Article
- Balanced imitation sustains song culture in zebra finches.Nature communications · 2021Article
- Discrimination of natural acoustic variation in vocal signals.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Categorical Rhythms Are Shared between Songbirds and Humans.Current biology : CB · 2020Article
- Sound sequences in birdsong: how much do birds really care?Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Review
- Automated bioacoustics: methods in ecology and conservation and their potential for animal welfare monitoring.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2019Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
Learned bird songs are often characterized by a high degree of variation between individuals and sometimes between populations, while at the same time maintaining species specificity. The evolution of such songs depends on the balance between plasticity and constraints. Captive populations provide an opportunity to examine signal variation and differentiation in detail, so we analyzed adult male zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) songs recorded from 13 populations across the world, including one sample of songs from wild-caught males in their native Australia. Cluster analysis suggested some, albeit limited, evidence that zebra finch song units belonged to universal, species-wide categories, linked to restrictions in vocal production and non-song parts of the vocal repertoire. Across populations, songs also showed some syntactical structure, although any song unit could be placed anywhere within the song. On the other hand, there was a statistically significant differentiation between populations, but the effect size was very small, and its communicative significance dubious. Our results suggest that variation in zebra finch songs within a population is largely determined by species-wide constraints rather than population-specific features. Although captive zebra finch populations have been sufficiently isolated to allow them to genetically diverge, there does not appear to have been any divergence in the genetically determined constraints that underlie song learning. Perhaps more surprising is the lack of locally diverged cultural traditions. Zebra finches serve as an example of a system where frequent learning errors may rapidly create within-population diversity, within broad phonological and syntactical constraints, and prevent the formation of long-term cultural traditions that allow populations to diverge.
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