Ability to modulate birdsong across social contexts develops without imitative social learning

Abstract

Many important behaviours are socially learned. For example, the acoustic structure of courtship songs in songbirds is learned by listening to and interacting with conspecifics during a sensitive period in development. Signallers modify the spectral and temporal structures of their vocalizations depending on the social context, but the degree to which this modulation requires imitative social learning remains unknown. We found that male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) that were not exposed to context-dependent song modulations throughout development significantly modulated their song in ways that were typical of socially reared birds. Furthermore, the extent of these modulations was not significantly different between finches that could or could not observe these modulations during tutoring. These data suggest that this form of vocal flexibility develops without imitative social learning in male zebra finches.