Highlights•I review the functions of auditory templates in birdsong learning.•Peter Marler
postulated two types of innate templates: preactive and latent.•White-crowned sparrow song …

Courtship signals are attractive; in other words, receivers are motivated to approach
courtship signals. Though the concept of a receiver is commonly associated in the literature …

We explored physiological changes correlated with song tutoring by recording the
responses of caudal nidopallium neurons of zebra finches aged P21–P24 (days post …

In songbirds, the ontogeny of singing behavior shows strong parallels with human speech
learning. As in humans, development of learned vocal behavior requires exposure to an …

Elaborate and diverse sounds are an important aspect of many bird behaviors, and these
sounds are generated by sophisticated multiple motor systems regulating respiration, vocal …

Song in oscine birds (as in human speech and song) relies upon the rare capacity of vocal
learning. Transmission can be vertical, horizontal, or oblique. As a rule, memorization and …

Vocal learning, a key behavior in human speech development, occurs only in a small
number of animal taxa. Ontogeny of vocal behavior in humans and songbirds involves …

Birdsong is a form of sensorimotor learning that involves a mirror‐like system that activates
with both song hearing and production. Early models of song learning, based on behavioral …

Conspecific signals are attractive to their receivers, including those receivers that will
eventually become senders. Vocal learners, such as songbirds, exemplify this point; when …

Méndez JM, Dall'Asén AG, Cooper BG, Goller F. Acquisition of an acoustic template leads to
refinement of song motor gestures. J Neurophysiol 104: 984–993, 2010. First published …