Juvenile Bachman's sparrow audio

Vocal learning is a focal point of avian research, and can vary greatly across taxa. Different species may adapt to alternative learning strategies based on the timing of their sensitive periods, size of their repertoires, and social structure of their populations. Studying song learning in a broad range of species is essential for understanding how different factors may affect song learning. The Bachman’s Sparrow is a songbird with a large repertoire of primary songs and is highly territorial during adulthood. We have recorded the first known examples of juvenile song production in this species. In addition, we have confirmed previous observations that juveniles travel in small groups of non-relatives shortly after fledging. Our observations may inspire future research on how these social groups could influence  the  development and evolution of large song repertoires.