Coevolution of birdsong grammar without imitation

Abstract

The mating song of the male Bengalese finch can be described by a finite-state grammar and has the feature that more complex songs are preferred by females [1]-[3]. These facts suggest that complex song grammars may have evolved via sexual selection. How, then, do the female birds gauge a song's complexity? Assuming that they can measure the complexity of a song while communicating with a male, but without making a model of the song, we studied the evolution of song grammars. In our simulation, it was demonstrated that song grammars became more complex through communication between coevolving males and females. Furthermore, when singing and listening were subject to fluctuations, peculiar features were observed in communication and evolution.