Likewise, children learn to speak a language by listening to the people around them. most birds they learn their songs by first listening to their parents and other adults of the same kind.. They also develop small variations in trills in different groups of the same species during this learning. thereby developing the distinctive ‘dialect’ of their group.
According to a study conducted by Stockholm University (Sweden), this learning causes small changes from generation to generation, which in turn characteristic differences in song between geographically different populations of the same species. It is the same process that enables dialects to form in human languages.
The aforementioned study showed that pied flycatchers (ficedula hypoleuca) At 12 days old, they respond much better to listening to the songs of their own dialect than to the songs of another species or even the songs of different populations of their own species.
By broadcasting songs to nearly 2,000 chicks and observing their responses, the researchers were able to show that young flycatchers respond to songs that most closely resemble their own dialect.
“These results suggest that birds are ‘adjusted’ from an early age to recognize the songs of their own populations. This conditions subsequent learning,” says lead author of the study, David Wheatcroft, associate professor in the Department of Zoology at Stockholm University in Sweden.
Pied flycatcher song is produced by males and plays an important role in female mate selection. They live with collared flycatchers (albicollis), with which they are closely related, but sometimes interbred to produce sterile offspring.
To understand the variation in these calls, the researchers analyzed 168 male pied and collared flycatcher songs and found that the songs of pied flycatchers from seven European populations formed clearly defined dialects.
Even, young pied flycatchers could distinguish the song of the collared flycatchers, even if the two species did not coexist in the same area.
“We showed that interactions with collared flycatchers, in particular, did not prevent them from distinguishing their song,” the authors write.
The presence of this ‘dialect’ may prevent pied flycatchers from learning the songs of closely related species, possibly promoting a pre-mating reproductive barrier between pied flycatchers and pied flycatchers.
But how do birds learn such a dialect? Wheatcroft believes there is an explanation it may be that the chicks are innately recognizing their own dialect.
“If differences in initial song responses between populations are indeed innate, this suggests remarkable co-evolution between a cultural trait and underlying genes. “Speaking the local dialect is believed to help adults find suitable mates”it adds.
Reference work, at this link.
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Source: Informacion
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