White-crowned
Sparrow
(Zonotrichialeucophrys)
Photographed in the wild, Tucson, Arizona Mar 2010
Elegantly
marked in gray, brown, black, and white, the White-crowned Sparrow is one of
the best-studied songbirds in North America. Much of our knowledge of bird song
and development is based on studies of this species.
A
young male White-crowned Sparrow learns the basics of the song it will sing as
an adult during the first two or three months of its life. It does not learn
directly from its father, but rather from the generalized song environment of
its natal neighbourhood. Males on the edge of two dialects may be bilingual and
able to sing both dialects.
No comments:
Post a Comment