▪ Abstract Human speech and birdsong have numerous parallels. Both humans and
songbirds learn their complex vocalizations early in life, exhibiting a strong dependence on …

Vocal imitation in human infants and in some orders of birds relies on auditory-guided motor
learning during a sensitive period of development. It proceeds from'babbling'(in humans) …

The fruit, which mediates the maturation and dispersal of seeds, is a complex structure
unique to flowering plants. Seed dispersal in plants such as Arabidopsis occurs by a …

Bird fanciers have known for centuries that songbirds learn their songs. This learning has
striking parallels to speech acquisition: like humans, birds must hear the sounds of adults …

Vocal learning, the substrate for human language, is a rare trait found to date in only three
distantly related groups of mammals (humans, bats, and cetaceans) and three distantly …

The gene encoding the forkhead box transcription factor, FOXP2, is essential for developing
the full articulatory power of human language. Mutations of FOXP2 cause developmental …

Auditory information is critical for vocal imitation and other elements of social life in
songbirds. In zebra finches, neural centers that are necessary for the acquisition and …

Most vertebrates communicate acoustically, but few, among them humans, dolphins and
whales, bats, and three orders of birds, learn this trait. FOXP2 is the first gene linked to …

In songbirds, as in mammals, basal ganglia-forebrain circuits are necessary for the learning
and production of complex motor behaviors; however, the precise role of these circuits …

Male zebra finches display two song behaviors: directed and undirected singing. The two
differ little in the vocalizations produced but greatly in how song is delivered." Directed" song …