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Science 14 August 1981:
Vol. 213. no. 4509, pp. 780 - 782
DOI: 10.1126/science.213.4509.780
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Articles

Sparrows Learn Adult Song and More from Memory

PETER MARLER 1 and SUSAN PETERS 1

1 Field Research Center for Ecology and Ethology, Rockefeller University, Millbrook, New York 12545

Male swamp sparrows reared in the laboratory and exposed to taped songs during infancy produce accurate imitations of the material following an 8-month interval with no rehearsal. When the first rehearsal occurs, at about 300 days of age, large numbers of syllables are perfected. They are developed through invention and improvisation as well as imitation. Most are discarded at the time of song crystallization. Hence, these songbirds learn more than they manifest in full adult song.

Submitted on February 27, 1981
Revised on May 28, 1981


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