SONG DIALECTS AND GENE FLOW IN THE WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW,ZONOTRICHIA LEUCOPHRYS NUTTALLI

Song Dialects as Barriers to Dispersal in White-crowned Sparrows, Zonotrichia Leucophrys Nuttalli.

From song dialects to speciation in white-crowned sparrows.

The behavioural signals used in mate selection are a key component in the evolution of premating isolating barriers and, subsequently, the formation of new species. The importance of mating signals has a long tradition of study in songbirds, where many species differ in their song characteristics. In oscine songbirds, individual birds usually learn their songs from a tutor. Mistakes during lear...

Cultural Evolution of Puget Sound White-Crowned Sparrow Song Dialects

The songs of male Puget Sound white-crowned sparrows currently form about 12 dialects along the Pacific Northwest coast. In his survey of 1970, Baptista (Condor 1977; 79: 356–370) defined six of the dialects based on the song’s terminal trill because most males at each locality shared the simple syllables (SSs) in this trill. The complex syllables (CSs) in the song’s introduction varied among m...

Roles of syntax information in directing song development in white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys).

Syntactical cues play an important role in song learning in songbirds. White-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys), whose song typically consists of four to five different phrases, fail to construct normal songs if exposed to all phrase types presented singly (Plamondon, Goller, & Rose, 2008; Soha & Marler 2001b). The specific role of acquired syntax information in guiding ontogenetic traje...

Migratory Sleeplessness in the White-Crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii)

Twice a year, normally diurnal songbirds engage in long-distance nocturnal migrations between their wintering and breeding grounds. If and how songbirds sleep during these periods of increased activity has remained a mystery. We used a combination of electrophysiological recording and neurobehavioral testing to characterize seasonal changes in sleep and cognition in captive white-crowned sparro...