EVOLUTION OF PHONOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY: LOSS OFSPECIES-SPECIFIC BIAS LEADS TO MORE GENERALIZEDLEARNABILITY IN A SPECIES OF SONGBIRDS

摘要

A species of songbirds, the Bengalese finch (Lonchura striata var. domestica) isa domesticated strain of the wild white-rumped munia. White-rumped muniaswere imported to Japan some 250 years ago and then domesticated as a pet bird.Munias have been bred for their intense parental behavior and white colormorph during the course of domestication, but they were never bred for theirsongs. Nevertheless, domesticated Bengalese finches sing very different songsfrom those of Munias: Bengalese songs are sequentially and phonologicallycomplex while Munia songs are simpler (Okanoya, 2004).