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Science 13 November 1981:
Vol. 214. no. 4522, pp. 819 - 821
DOI: 10.1126/science.214.4522.819
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Articles

Early Experience Determines Song Dialect Responsiveness of Female Sparrows

MYRON CHARLES BAKER 1, KIMBERLY J. SPITLER-NABORS 1, and DANA C. BRADLEY 1

1 Department of Zoology and Entomology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523

In a laboratory experiment, female white-crowned sparrows responded almost exclusively to male songs taken from their home dialect region and usually not to songs taken from an alien dialect region. Song dialect populations may represent a level of genetic population structure below that of the subspecies and may play an important role in songbird evolution.

Submitted on May 19, 1981
Revised on August 11, 1981


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