Abstract
The role of learning in the development of the Rufous-collared Sparrow's song was investigated comparing the primary song of 10 subjects captured at different ages and raised in acoustic isolation or trained with conspecific tape-tutors, The subjects captured before day 10 of age and deprived of song models developed abnormal songs, lacking introduction (theme) and trill, In contrast, subjects captured and isolated after day 35-40 of age developed good copies of the song of their natal population, These facts suggest that the acoustical experience with the song from their natal area is sufficient for the imitation of their natal dialect. Subjects captured as nestlings and tape-tutored with natal and alien dialects developed songs with some features of the models, indicating the importance of the early acoustic experience in development of song. No evidence of song copying were found when tape-tutoring started after day 40 of age.
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