BIRDSONG
المؤلف:
John Field
المصدر:
Psycholinguistics
الجزء والصفحة:
P36
2025-08-02
355
BIRDSONG
The sounds produced by birds can be categorised as calls, short bursts which warn of danger or keep flocks together, and song, which is more complex and mainly serves functions related to territorial claims or to mating.
Calls are apparently innate, and their form and function vary little between generations. However, the process of acquisition of songs seems to vary from one type of bird to another, and even seems to be subject to regional variation. The song of the skylark appears to be mainly learned, while that of the thrush appears to be innate, but subject to modification after exposure to the song of adults. Most curious of all is the song of the chaffinch. Here, the basic tune seems to be innately acquired, but the rhythm and pitch have to be learnt. If a chaffinch does not hear any adult song during the first 15 months of its life, it does not acquire the full song. It has been argued that there may be a critical period for this species of bird and for others like it.
There are two views as to how birdsong is learned. One is that birds are born with or develop an auditory template which only admits to long-term memory the song of their own species. The other is that birds learn a range of songs but that an innate tuning of their sensory pathways causes them to focus attention on songs produced by their own species.
See also: Animal communication, Critical period, Species specificity
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