User:Hootie and the Cuttlefish/sandbox

Since its discovery, birdsong learning has served as a model system for the general mechanisms of learning.[4] Though Songbird nestlings possess some innate knowledge of their species’ song and respond to their parents’ song, they are not capable of singing properly without hearing the adult song and attempting to reproduce it.[5]  This is similar to language learning in humans as human children learn to speak from both hearing and imitating adults.[1][2][6]  Birdsong learning is also similar to human language learning in that both are time-sensitive. In the case of songbirds, each species has a specific window known as the “crystallization period” in which nestlings develop their sensory and motor skills to more accurately recognize and reproduce adult song.[2]  If a songbird is unable to learn its species’ song during the crystallization period, it will never do so.[2][5][6]  A similar phenomenon is seen in human children who are deafened early in life and never acquire vocal language.[3][5]  The ability to learn song from adults within the crystallization period is essential to an individual songbird's fitness since an accurate adult song is necessary for tasks such as establishing territory and attracting mates.[3][5]

Citations:

1.   Beecher M.D.; Burt J.M. (2004) “The Role of Social Interaction in Bird Song Learning.” Current Directions in Psychological Science. 13 (6) 224-228 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.0963-7214.2004.00313.x

2.   Brainard M.S. and Doupe A.J. (2002) “What Songbirds Teach us about learning.” Nature 417 351-358. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/417351a

3.   Lachlan R.F.; Ratmann O.; Nowicki S. (2018) “Cultural conformity generates extremely stable traditions in bird song.” Nature Communications 9 (2417) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04728-1

4. Nottebohm, F. (2005). "The Neural Basis of Birdsong". PLoS Biol. 3 (5): 163. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030164. PMC 1110917. PMID 15884976.

5.  Nowicki S.; Searcy W. A.; Peters S. (2002) “Quality of song learning affects female response to male bird song.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 269 1949-1954 doi: 10.1098/rspb.2002.2124.

6. Riebel K. (2016) “Understanding Sex Differences in Form and Function of Bird Song: The Importance of Studying Song Learning Processes.” Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 4 (62) doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2016.00062