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In a naturalistic environment, imitative learning is seen in many animal species. Many species of songbirds learn their songs through imitation, and it has been hypothesized that chimpanzees' understanding of intentionality of action in other members of a social group influences their imitative behaviors.

Imitation of Birdsong
As a sexually selected trait, variation in learning of songbird calls is often studied. Lahti, Moseley, and Podos performed a study on swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) where young sparrows were exposed to song models with controlled trill rates. Higher trill rates are more difficult to perform and thus are likely more desired in birdsong performance. When exposed to low-performance models, it was found that the learner sparrows sacrificed imitative accuracy for higher performance, while when exposed to high-performance models, imitation was very accurate. The researchers suggest that this study may provide insight into how behaviors learned through imitation can still be selected for due to level of performance.

Kendra B. Sewall explored the variation in learned bird songs in relation to social and genetic intermixing of families of red crossbills (Loxia curvirostra). When given to foster parents, it was shown that fledgling crossbills will imitate the particular variations in their foster parents' calls. It was thus hypothesized that such idiosyncrasies in call could aid in creating familial cohesion and that when such call variants are passed down generations, those variants are direct signals of the crossbill's genetic and familial history.

Scott A. MacDougall-Shackleton summarized research that suggests developmental stressors have an impact on bird song learning, and that such discrepancies in call can be identified and selected against in some species of birds. He suggests that while many studies have shown that several species of songbirds prefer the song dialect of their local area, current data is lacking in explaining why this is so. MacDougall-Shackleton argues that genetic factors may play into this preference as well as social learning. In this study, three separate groups of lab-raised house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) were raised hearing the local song dialect, a foreign song dialect, and no song, respectively. In adulthood, all finches showed sexual preference for the local dialect, suggesting an inherited component to song preference.

Visual Behavioral Imitation
On the most basic level, research performed by A.L. Saggerson, David N. George, and R.C. Honey showed that pigeons were able to learn a process that would lead to the delivery of a reward by watching a demonstrator pigeon. A demonstrator pigeon was trained to peck a panel in response to one stimulus (e.g. a red light) and hop on the panel in response to a second stimulus (e.g. a green light). After proficiency in this task was established in the demonstrator pigeon, other learner pigeons were placed in a video-monitored observation chamber. After every second observed trial, these learner pigeons were then individually placed in the demonstrator pigeon's box and presented the same test. The learner pigeons displayed competent performance on the task, and thus it was concluded that the learner pigeons had formed a response-outcome association while observing. However, the researchers noted that an alternative interpretation of these results could be that the learner pigeons had instead acquired outcome-response associations that guided their behavior and that further testing was needed to establish if this was a valid alternative.

Carrasco et al. tested a chimpanzee, Lili, and found "surprising skill" at imitating actions, and behaviors that indicated an intentional change in mimicry. When Lili performed an action with the wrong appendage, she corrected her mistake in subsequent attempts. They concluded that the subject had a complex visual-motor control system and that the behaviors were intentionally imitated rather than solved through stimulus enhancement.

Buttelmann, Carpenter, Call, and Tomasello similarly studied deliberate imitation in chimpanzees. A demonstrator performed the same actions in two conditions: "Hands Free" and "Hands Occupied." It was found that the chimpanzees imitated more often when the demonstrator was in the "Hands Free" condition, indicating that chimpanzees are able to understand the reasoning behind another being's actions and apply that understanding when imitating others.

Custance et al. tested groups of adult pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) and compared them to adult humans on their performance on opening an artificial fruit after watching a demonstrator. It was found that the macaques only showed weak evidence of imitative learning compared to the adult humans. It was hypothesized that because the macaques were adults, they were less likely to imitate than juvenile monkeys, as accurate imitation may be an adaptation that is more useful to juveniles.

Mechanisms for Imitative Learning
Mechanisms that support imitative learning have been studied on the neurological level. Roberts et al. performed research on zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) that explored the importance of neural motor circuitry on birdsong learning. If the the premotor nucleus was disrupted while a juvenile finch was learning a song from an older finch, the song was not copied. Images of a finch undergoing various neural manipulations showed that premotor circuits aid in encoding information about songs.

Behavioral mechanisms have also been studied. Cecilia Heyes at the University of Oxford argues that the mechanisms underlying social learning in both humans and nonhumans are analogous to those of non-social learning. Observational learning, then, only becomes social when perceptual, attentional, and motivational factors are focused on other organisms by genetic or developmental forces.