Data from: A simple explanation for the evolution of complex song syntax in Bengalese finches

The songs of Bengalese finches (Lonchura striata var. domestica) have complex syntax and provide an opportunity to investigate how complex sequential behavior emerges via the evolutionary process. In the present study, we suggest that a simple mechanism, i.e., many-to-one mapping from internal states onto syllables, may underlie the emergence of apparent complex syllable sequences that have higher-order history dependencies. We analyzed the songs of Bengalese finches and of their wild ancestor, the white-rumped munia (Lonchura striata), whose songs are more stereotypical and simpler compared to those of Bengalese finches. The many-to-one mapping mechanism sufficiently accounted for the differences in the complexity of song syllable sequences of these two strains.

孟加拉雀（Bengalese finches，学名Lonchura striata var. domestica）的鸣曲具有复杂的句法结构，为探究复杂序列行为如何通过演化过程涌现提供了绝佳研究契机。本研究提出，一种简单机制——即内部状态到鸣曲音节的多对一映射——可能是具备高阶历史依赖性的看似复杂的鸣曲音节序列涌现的核心基础。我们分析了孟加拉雀及其野生祖先白腰文鸟（white-rumped munia，学名Lonchura striata）的鸣曲，后者的鸣曲相较于孟加拉雀更为刻板且结构更趋简单。该多对一映射机制足以解释这两个品系鸣曲音节序列复杂度的差异。