Re: Subsong

[jdavis <>]

Carol:

 I pretty much agree with philip's comments.  However, I would like to point 
out that 
subsong could, in many species, be restricted to certain times of the year or 
age.  In 
songbirds that learn much of what they sing there is a period, usually 
preceeding 
breeding, during which individuals get reacquainted with singing -- this period 
often 
corresponds to growth of neurons.  In some species, e.g., the canary, parts of 
the brain 
involved with singing grow new connections each spring in males (the same 
process could 
happen in females in other species). So, I would like to add to the definition 
of 
subsong a developmental component.  In a sense, birds singing subsongs are 
practicing.

Cheers, Jim

P.S.  I have left out a lot of details in the above text.

Jim Davis, Editor
Interpretive Birding Bulletin