Zebra finch mothers coach their sons to sing better

In the world of zebra finches, males sing, and females were thought to just listen. But a new study by Daniela Vallentin at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence has overturned this assumption.

It turns out that female zebra finches play a far more active and crucial role in shaping their sons’ singing abilities than previously thought: They call in response to their son’s vocal exercises, which activates a neuronal circuit in the male brain. In this way, the female feedback directly promotes the accuracy of the learned song and highlights the often-overlooked importance of females shaping complex behaviors.

As with many bird species, only male zebra finches are able to learn the species-typical song from a tutor, usually the father. Over a period of three months, the young males initially only listen to the tutor. They then begin to practice the song they have heard and eventually develop their own version of it, which they keep for the rest of their lives.

Females, on the other hand, do not sing; their calls are innate and primarily used to communicate with their partner. Therefore, research on song learning has mainly focused on males, i.e. the relationship between tutor and apprentice. The potential influence of females and their calls on song development has so far been largely neglected.

Vallentin and her team now discovered that female zebra finches play a far more active and influential role in shaping their sons’ vocal abilities than previously imagined. The paper is published in the journal Nature Communications.

When young males practice their songs, the females don’t merely listen; they actively respond with specific calls. These calls, the researchers found, trigger a unique neuronal response in the males’ brains, influencing their learning process and enabling them to more accurately mimic their tutor’s song.

In essence, females act as vocal coaches, providing real-time feedback that helps males refine their songs. This revelation challenges the traditional, male-centric view of song learning, highlighting the often-overlooked importance of females in shaping complex behaviors. As Linda Bistere, the study’s first author, remarks, the findings were both “exciting and unexpected,” underscoring the value of questioning assumptions and exploring uncharted territories in scientific research.

The findings serve as a reminder that even subtle interactions between the sexes can have a profound impact on the development of complex behaviors like birdsong. It also underscores the importance of looking beyond the obvious when studying the natural world, as hidden influences and unexpected collaborations may be waiting to be discovered.

So, the next time you hear a male zebra finch serenading his mate, remember that his beautiful song is likely the result of a duet of learning, with both the male and the female playing crucial roles.