Researchers say warbler fight songs follow fashion while love songs stick to a few classics
Monday, August 23, 2010 - 15:14
in Psychology & Sociology
A team of researchers has found that chestnut-sided warblers possess two distinct cultural traditions in song variants that evolve independently - one, used for territorial disputes that changes frequently, and another, used for romance that relies on a small unchanging sampling of classics. The findings suggest songbird culture is more complex than previously thought, the scientists say. The paper will be published in the journal The American Naturalist.