October 18, 2018

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Human and avian youngsters learn behaviors by imitating adults. But learners are selective in who they copy, and scientists don't understand how they choose the right teacher. Young male zebra finches must learn to copy the song of an adult male to mate, but juveniles won't imitate songs played through a loudspeaker or sung by other species of birds. New findings from Duke University scientists show how the juvenile birds identify the right teacher. Full Story

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Duke University

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