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The Symbolic Species Evolved pp 117–130Cite as

The Evolution of Learning to Communicate: Avian Model for the Missing Link

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Part of the book series: Biosemiotics ((BSEM,volume 6))

Abstract

Exclusively primate-centric models for the study of the evolution of communication, although reasonable considering the close phylogenetic relationships between present day human and nonhuman primates, overlook parallel or convergent evolution and the possibility that birds—with their advanced cognitive and communicative abilities—can provide models for the evolution of communication, particularly for vocal learning. Through similar evolutionary pressures and parallel exploitation of ecological niches, similar communicative abilities likely evolved, and birds are among the few nonhuman species to learn their vocal communication system. Even the neuroanatomical structures subserving vocal behavior in birds and humans are now evaluated for similarity. Thus, I suggest that examining avian subjects, particularly their learning and use of various vocal systems, will shed light on the evolution of learned vocal communication.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Critical rearing experiments have yet to test claims for some form of vocal dialect learning in apes (Crockford, Herbinger, Vigilant, & Boesch, 2004) and marmosets (de la Torre & Snowdon 2009).

  2. 2.

    A similar proposal exists for birds (Williams & Nottebohm, 1985), but more on that later.

  3. 3.

    Recent studies show that various language-related functions (e.g., mapping of auditory sound representations onto motor representations for producing speech; mapping speech sounds onto word concepts) may require parallel processing of widely distributed brain areas (e.g., Holt & Lotto, 2008, Poeppel & Monahan, 2008), but these may also be tied to gesture recognition.

  4. 4.

    We can, of course, draw inferences about brain morphology of early hominins and their descendents from endocasts (note Holloway, Sherwood, Hof, & Rilling, 2009), but such data cannot provide conclusive information concerning brain structures and their specific interconnections.

  5. 5.

    For example: Studies by Baptista (1983, 1988) and his colleagues on white-crowned sparrows showed that the song-learning period described by Marler (1970) for birds that were tape-tutored in social isolation could be doubled if the birds were exposed to live interacting tutors.

  6. 6.

    Other features of the song have also changed over the years (Kroodsma, pers. comm., September 2005), but the change in frequency is the most obvious (Kroodsma, 2005).

  7. 7.

    The bellbird is endangered, but conceivably data might be obtained in the future from captive birds in a noninvasive manner.

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Acknowledgments

Manuscript preparation was supported by donors to The Alex Foundation. Ideas described herein were developed partly during a Bunting Fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute. Significant portions of this manuscript have been adapted from Pepperberg (2011, in press).

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  1. Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Irene M. Pepperberg

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  1. , Danish School of Education, University of Århus, Tuborgvej 164, København, DK-2400, Denmark

    Theresa Schilhab

  2. Jens Chr. Skous Vej 7, Aarhus C, 8000, Denmark

    Frederik Stjernfelt

  3. , Department of Anthropology, University of Berkeley, Kroeber Hall 329, Berkeley, 94720-3710, California, USA

    Terrence Deacon

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Pepperberg, I.M. (2012). The Evolution of Learning to Communicate: Avian Model for the Missing Link. In: Schilhab, T., Stjernfelt, F., Deacon, T. (eds) The Symbolic Species Evolved. Biosemiotics, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2336-8_7

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