"Kevin J. Colver" wrote:
>
> Does anyone have the reference to the study showing that songbirds take
> numerous microbreaths throughout prolonged song sequences?
Well, I've seen them doing it.
> Also, it is alluded to in Kroodsma's text that few creatures learn their
> vocalizations by listening to others - including humans, humpback
> whales, and some birds including many songbird species. Any others?
> Other whales and dolphins? Frogs? Other primates? Ect.?
I've not seen a study that would indicate that frogs learn their calls.
I believe the assumption is that they come "hardwired". They are often,
to a large degree responding to surrounding calls, however. And
certainly may copy the tempo of surrounding calls. In fact, quite a few
frogs do very close matches. Quite often in looking at sonograms of
frogcalls what sounds like a single call may be superimposed calls of
more than one individual.
Frogs do vary from individual to individual as to song, and a individual
will vary how he calls, within limits.
I'd expect that other primates are probably like humans. We do know that
other primates can be taught some words.
There is no reason to believe that humpbacks are unique in whales and
dolphins with regard to vocalizations.
I expect that in mammals there is a fair amount of learned vocalization.
Walt
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