Why lusty canaries
change their tune

WASHINGTON - Young canary males can be tempted to sing songs that do not sound very canarylike, but as breeding season approaches, maturing canary males transform their biologically untested songs into tried-and-true canary tunes capable of charming females, scientists have found.

During the first half of their youth, male canaries raised alone in soundproof cages can learn to precisely imitate computer-generated songs. As spring nears, however, the canaries literally “change their tune” by reorganizing the structure of their songs so that they conform to the rules of adult canary songs and the expectations of potential mates.

This new study appears in Friday's issue of the journal Science, published by AAAS, the nonprofit science society.

This unexpected discovery of youthful vocal flexibility in a songbird species known for its regimented and non-flexible songs in adulthood suggests new ways that freedom and rules are both involved in canary singing.

The work may also provide insights into the more general phenomenon of “vocal learning” in which humans as well as some birds, whales, porpoises and perhaps bats learn to make sounds by either imitation or improvisation.

While singing, songbirds rearrange defined units of sound to form different phrases in a way that parallels the human process of rearranging the sounds of different letters to form words. These vocal learning similarities allow scientists to study canaries in order to investigate speech in new ways.

Songs of courtship
A bird’s songs express an emotional state, perhaps something similar to a piece of instrumental music that conveys a message without words, according to Science author Timothy Gardner, who conducted the research while at Rockefeller University in New York.

Through their songs, birds proclaim their species identity, breeding status, health and individuality.

Male canaries with large song repertoires boast about their leisure time to potential mates.

“Short of driving a Mercedes-Benz, it’s what a bird can do to say ‘I’m such a good finder of food that I have the time to make these long songs,’” explained Rockefeller University's Fernando Nottebohm, another author of the Science research.

As the spring breeding season nears and the days grow longer, a male’s songs encourage a female canary’s transition from hunter-gatherer to mother-to-be. This transition includes mating, egg laying and nest building.

“In a very real sense, the male is charming the female with his songs,” said Nottebohm.

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