Vocal Learning in Budgerigars

BudgiePic
Previous work from our laboratory showed that vocal imitation in budgerigars (parakeets; see painting on left, which was created by Giao Nguyen, a talented former undergrad and technician) evolved in the context of courtship and mate choice. Specifically, we showed that male budgerigars tend to imitate the contact calls of females whom they are courting, and that female budgerigars prefer to mate with males who know how to imitate them. We also showed that, if you make small lesions in the brains of male budgerigars that render them "imitation-impaired", then the females mated to those males tend to seek more extra-pair copulations (i.e. cheat). We are continuing some behavioral research on budgerigars through a collaboration, but most of our laboratory efforts are now embryological in focus.