Subtle song variations sway female zebra finches, study shows
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New research shows that while male zebra finches sing just one song, subtle variations in how they sing it matter to female finches choosing a mate.
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Using machine learning, researchers found that female finches prefer songs with more "spread" between syllables.
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Synthetic songs engineered to have more spread between syllables were more attractive to female finches.
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Baby finches have more difficulty learning songs with more complexity, suggesting fitter males can handle the challenge.
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The findings reveal unexpected complexity in the simple, repetitive songs of zebra finches.