Press Release 96-019
Never the Same Song Twice From Songbird

May 3, 1996

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If song sparrows were humans, they would be jazz singers....and folk singers....and pop singers, says Steve Nowicki, a National Science Foundation (NSF) grantee who is a zoologist at Duke University.

"Many birds sing songs repeatedly, but with song sparrows, it's not repetition--it's variation. These birds rarely sing the same thing twice."

Song sparrows learn as chicks to improvise on old standards. Not only does this ability set them apart from other birds, it calls into question basic assumptions about learning, evolution, and animal communication. "According to neurobiological theory, birds keep songs in a sort of memory template," says Randy Nelson, director of NSF's animal behavior program. "Songs stored there can be reeled off at the proper moment. More complicated songs presumably use more complicated templates."

Yet nothing in the theory accounts for song sparrows' ability to improvise--or their motivations. "As an evolutionary biologist, I find it interesting because the different things the birds say don't seem to mean anything different," says Nowicki. "So what's the point of variation?"

The biologist is trying to find out. Nowicki documented song sparrows' variations by making sound recordings in the Pennsylvania woods and observing how birds behaved as they sang and listened to one another's songs. "They may be doing it to prevent habituation," Nowicki suggests. Like a familiar song with unexpected lyrics ("Row, Row, Row Your Canoe," for example instead of "Row, Row, Row your Boat"), a bird song may attract more attention when it is varied.

Another theory has to do with attracting a mate. Darwin attributed exaggerated male traits, such as peacocks' tails, to their ability to attract females. With more varied songs, song sparrows may be more successful in wooing mates. To test this theory, Nowicki plans to play various males' recordings to females. A female signifies when a song has struck a chord by fluffing up her feathers and preparing to mate. If the theory is correct, this behavior should occur more often with more varied songs.

Nowicki is also exploring other explanations, such as territorial defense, as well as investigating the neurobiological mechanisms by which song sparrows learn to sing their varied songs.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Cheryl L. Dybas, NSF (703) 292-8070 cdybas@nsf.gov

Program Contacts
Randy Nelson, NSF (703) 292-8420 rnelson@nsf.gov

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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