Immediate and transitory effects of delayed auditory feedback on bird song production

Recent findings have challenged the notion that song development in many oscines ends in crystallized, stereotyped motor programmes. Evidence here indicates that delayed auditory feedback can result in immediate changes in song syllable syntax and phonology. Zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, when exposed to their own song that was delayed 50-250 ms, promptly produced anomalies such as stutters, omissions and novel sounds. As soon as the auditory feedback stopped, the birds returned to normal, stereotyped song. The effects are compared to those obtained from human speakers subjected to delayed auditory feedback. (C) 2001 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.