Bird Song: A Key Model in Animal Communication

In birds, vocal sounds are one of the primary forms of communication. Song functions as a mating and pair bonding signal as well as in competition over resources and social coordination. In most songbirds (oscines), song is learned socially early in life. Song development is widely accepted as the closest animal analogue to human speech acquisition because vocal learning in birds and humans is supported by specialized forebrain areas, depends on auditory feedback and requires motor practice. Transmission of individual song types is often very accurate leading to locally shared song variants or even dialects, a prime example of cultural evolution in animals.