Reduced social contact causes auditory perceptual deficits in zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata

Songbirds are able to receive communications in networks because both senders and receivers are equipped with impressive auditory perceptual abilities. Here, we examined the effects of isolation from adult males and other conspecifics in the communication network on the development of auditory perception in zebra finches. We tested male and female zebra finches in laboratory auditory operant discriminations known to test zebra finches' abilities to perceive absolute pitch (frequency range discrimination) and relative pitch (frequency ratio discrimination), and to identify individual song notes (song note discrimination). Compared to normally reared zebra finches, birds reared apart from adult males but with siblings and the female parent (tutor-only isolates) had deficits in the frequency range discrimination. Birds reared apart from adult males and apart from all conspecifics after 35 days of age (tutor-brood isolates) had deficits in all three auditory discriminations. Analyses of song production revealed that tutor-only isolate males, directed their aberrant songs at female conspecifics, whereas tutor-brood isolate males did not. These results support the hypothesis that male and female zebra finches require specific experience with conspecifics in a communication network to develop normal auditory perceptual abilities. (C) 2001 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.