Who Teaches White-crowned Sparrows Their Song?
One would think that the father is the teacher of the song. However, research provides a completely different story. Instead of listening to father during the first few months of life, they pick up sounds they grow up with from the local neighborhood. Because they don’t travel far from where they were raised, males living on the edge of two dialects can often sing both or become bilingual. If you are interested in learning more about birds and their songs, check out the highly recommended The Singing Life of Birds by Donald Kroodsma.
