The hidden fitness of the male zebra finch courtship song. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38509376/)

These scientists wanted to understand why some songbirds only learn one song in their lifetime, while others have many different songs. They studied zebra finches, a type of bird known for learning only one song.

To do this, the scientists looked at the different sounds, or syllables, that the zebra finches make when they sing. They used a special technique to simplify and analyze these sounds in a way that made it easier to compare them. They found that the spread of syllables in a low-dimensional space can explain why some birds have only one song.

The scientists discovered that female zebra finches prefer songs that take up more space in this special analysis, and that young male birds have a hard time making their songs match up in this low-dimensional space.

Overall, the study helps us understand how simple singing behaviors can evolve in birds, and how female birds choosing mates based on their songs can influence this evolution.

Alam D., Zia F., Roberts TF. The hidden fitness of the male zebra finch courtship song. Nature. 2024 Mar 20. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07207-4.