Publication Type: | Journal Article |
Year of Publication: | 1978 |
Authors: | Nottebohm, F, Nottebohm, ME |
Journal: | Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie |
Volume: | 46 |
Issue: | 3 |
Date Published: | 1978 |
ISBN Number: | 1439-0310 |
Keywords: | Fringillidae, Serinus, Serinus canaria, Serinus serinus |
Abstract: | Abstract We recorded the song of six male canaries during their first and second year of life to see if we could detect systematic age-related changes. Soundspectrographic analysis revealed that many syllables from the previous year were omitted and many new ones were added. There was a significant increase in syllable repertoire during the second year. The proportion of single-element syllables increased between year 1 and year 2. These results indicate that neural pathways responsible for song learning in canaries remain plastic in adulthood. We suggest that the larger song repertoires of older ♂♂ confer a reproductive advantage by acting as a more potent stimulus on ♀♀. |
URL: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1978.tb01451.x |
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