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The Syntactic Organization of Bird Song

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Abstract

Bird song is one of the most advanced communication systems. The complex syntactic organization of a song, along with its unique dual nature that combines genetic inheritance and vocal training is often considered in the modern literature as a feature that brings it closer to human speech or written text. The study of patterns in the construction of sequences of discrete signals in the song of birds is currently a rapidly developing field of bioacoustics. In this review, we consider the results of research on the main modes of syntactic organization of a song, such as the volume of individual repertoires, the measure of ordering the performance of vocal components of a song (linear or combinatorial syntax), the ways to group vocal components of different levels of the song organization (notes, phrases, song types) in compositions and programs, the presence of branching and convergence points in signal sequences, and hidden relations between vocal components in their sequences. In conclusion, we consider the entire diversity of syntactic models described to date and provide examples of their implementation in the song of different bird species.

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This study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research based on the results of the “Expansion” competition, project no. 19-14-50229.

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    V. V. Ivanitskii & I. M. Marova

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Ivanitskii, V.V., Marova, I.M. The Syntactic Organization of Bird Song. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 49, 1158–1170 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359022080076

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