SONG DIALECTS AS BARRIERS TO DISPERSAL IN WHITE‐CROWNED SPARROWS, ZONOTRICHIA LEUCOPHRYS NUTTALLI

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

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...

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...

Hippocampal neurogenesis is associated with migratory behaviour in adult but not juvenile sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys ssp.).

It has been hypothesized that individuals who have higher demands for spatially based behaviours should show increases in hippocampal attributes. Some avian species have been shown to use a spatially based representation of their environment during migration. Further, differences in hippocampal attributes have been shown between migratory and non-migratory subspecies as well as between individu...

Facultative Altitudinal Movements by Mountain White-Crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) in the Sierra Nevada

-Mountain White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) winter in Mexico and often arrive in the vicinity of their breeding grounds in the Sierra Nevada well before nesting is possible. Arrival at Tioga Pass, Califomia (elevation 3,030 m), usually occurs in early May, but residual winter snow and adverse weather can delay nesting for weeks. We used radiotelemetry to determine whether...