Young male Regent honeyeaters are picking up sounds from other bird species.
Birds learn songs in two forms: innate, the vocalization that is part of the genetic “package” of the species, and learned. That, like in humans, are the vocalizations learned and influenced by the environment. Only three kinds of birds are known to learn vocalizations this way: hummingbirds, parrots, and passerines (also known as songbirds).
For a bird to learn a vocalization it needs to have a tutor. In healthy populations, tutor availability is high, which increases the chance of young birds to incorporate rare syllables/dialects into their vocal repertoire. But what happens when the population is decreasing, and not many tutors are available?
https://massivesci.com/notes/regent-honeyeater-song-vocalizations-tutors/
Birds learn songs in two forms: innate, the vocalization that is part of the genetic “package” of the species, and learned. That, like in humans, are the vocalizations learned and influenced by the environment. Only three kinds of birds are known to learn vocalizations this way: hummingbirds, parrots, and passerines (also known as songbirds).
For a bird to learn a vocalization it needs to have a tutor. In healthy populations, tutor availability is high, which increases the chance of young birds to incorporate rare syllables/dialects into their vocal repertoire. But what happens when the population is decreasing, and not many tutors are available?
https://massivesci.com/notes/regent-honeyeater-song-vocalizations-tutors/