Neurogenomic insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch - eLife
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FEATURE ARTICLE
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF MODEL ORGANISMS
Neurogenomic insights into the
behavioral and vocal
development of the zebra finch
Abstract The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is a socially monogamous and colonial opportunistic
breeder with pronounced sexual differences in singing and plumage coloration. Its natural history has
led to it becoming a model species for research into sex differences in vocal communication, as well
as behavioral, neural and genomic studies of imitative auditory learning. As scientists tap into the
genetic and behavioral diversity of both wild and captive lineages, the zebra finch will continue to
inform research into culture, learning, and social bonding, as well as adaptability to a changing
climate.
MARK E HAUBER*, MATTHEW IM LOUDER AND SIMON C GRIFFITH
Introduction Due to the pronounced sexual differences in
The zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata is the most singing and plumage coloration found in the
intensively studied species of bird that is main- zebra finch (Figure 1), earlier research quickly
tained in captivity in large numbers despite not focused on when and how males learn to copy
being a species bred for its meat or eggs, like and produce a tutor(-like) song (e.g. Eales, 1987;
the chicken or the quail (reviewed in Brainard and Doupe, 2002; Figure 2A), and
Zann, 1996). It became popular as a pet bird in then eventually on how females learn from their
the 19th century because it bred well in captivity, (foster) fathers to prefer particular male vocal
and was adopted for scientific study in the third displays (Braaten and Reynolds, 1999; Rie-
quarter of the 20th century, initially for research bel, 2000). This allowed for the characterization
into sexual behaviors (Morris, 1954; Immel- and testing of the functions of male song and its
mann, 1972). Later, the zebra finch was used in female perception in the context of acoustic sex-
*For correspondence: studies of the de novo evolution of vocal culture ual dimorphism at the behavioral, endocrine,
mhauber@illinois.edu and neurophysiological levels (reviewed in Rie-
(e.g. Fehér et al., 2009; Diez and MacDougall-
Competing interests: The Shackleton, 2020), the neuroethology of imita- bel, 2009; Hauber et al., 2010).
authors declare that no tive vocal learning (Terpstra et al., 2004; The zebra finch was the second avian species
competing interests exist. to have its genome sequenced (Warren et al.,
Vallentin et al., 2016; Yanagihara and Yazaki-
2010), after the domestic fowl (Gallus gallus;
Funding: See page 12 Sugiyama, 2019), the neural mechanisms of sen-
International Chicken Genome Sequencing
Reviewing editor: Helena Pérez sorimotor learning (Mandelblat-Cerf et al.,
Consortium, 2004). Soon after the appearance
Valle, eLife, United Kingdom 2014; Okubo et al., 2015; Mackevicius et al.,
of transgenic lines of domestic fowl and the Jap-
Copyright Hauber et al. This 2020; Sakata and Yazaki-Sugiyama, 2020), and
anese quail Cortunix japonica (reviewed
article is distributed under the the role of early acoustic experience on the
by Sato and Lansford, 2013), the first genera-
terms of the Creative Commons song-based preferences of female mate choice
tions of transgenic zebra finches become avail-
Attribution License, which (Riebel and Smallegange, 2003; Chen et al.,
permits unrestricted use and able (e.g. Agate et al., 2009; Abe et al., 2015;
2017; Woolley, 2012; see the following video
redistribution provided that the Liu et al., 2015). The proven feasibility of
for a mating display in zebra finches: https://
original author and source are genome editing in both developing zebra
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaC6D1cW1Hs).
credited. finches (e.g. Ahmadiantehrani and London,
Hauber et al. eLife 2021;10:e61849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849 1 of 19
Feature Article The Natural History of Model Organisms: Insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch
Figure 1. Adult zebra finches in the wild. Four female and nine male adult zebra finches in the wild in Australia.
As the species experiences increasingly extreme climatic fluctuations, future field studies of the zebra finch should
also advance our understanding how opportunistically breeding species are able to adapt to accelerating climate
change (photo credit: Simon C Griffith).
2017) and adult poultry (reviewed in Finally, with Australia experiencing increas-
Woodcock et al., 2017), means that this bird ingly extreme climatic events and fluctuations,
may also be used as both a basic and an applied field studies of the zebra finch are also paving
(i.e., biomedical) model for development and for the way to understanding how this opportunisti-
human health and disease (e.g. Han and Park, cally breeding species is adapting to accelerat-
2018; London, 2020). ing climate change. For example, recent wild
Studies of zebra finch natural history in Aus- studies have revealed the zebra finch’s extensive
tralia have been essential to establish and con- behavioral and physiological plasticity to with-
firm the rationale for studying this species as a stand extreme temperatures of over 40˚C (e.g.
model for acoustic communication (Zann, 1990; Cooper et al., 2020a; Cooper et al., 2020b;
Elie et al., 2010), social behavior Funghi et al., 2019). In turn, studies of captive
(McCowan et al., 2015; Brandl et al., 2019a;
zebra finches in controlled temperature condi-
Brandl et al., 2019b), reproductive physiology
tions have already tested the effects of cool vs.
(Perfito et al., 2007), life-long pair bonding
hot climates on parental investment
(Mariette and Griffith, 2012), and adaptations
(Nord et al., 2010), parent-offspring embryonic
to heat (Cade et al., 1965; Cooper et al.,
communication (Mariette and Buchanan, 2016),
2020a; Cooper et al., 2020b). Specifically, by
offspring development (Wada et al., 2015),
understanding the natural history of the zebra
tutor choice for song learning (Katsis et al.,
finch, research in captivity can capitalize on the
manipulation of the behavioral, neuroendocrine, 2018), adult phenotype (e.g. body size:
and epigenetic bases of the bird’s phenotype, Andrew et al., 2017), the level of DNA methyla-
including conspecific brood parasitism, parent- tion (Sheldon et al., 2020), and the effect of
offspring conflict, and sibling rivalry. heat waves on sperm (Hurley et al., 2018).
Hauber et al. eLife 2021;10:e61849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849 2 of 19
Feature Article The Natural History of Model Organisms: Insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch
g. song) variability (Lansverk et al., 2019; see
Box 1).
An evolutionary history of the
zebra finch
The zebra finch is endemic to Australasia, and
evolved there as part of the Australian grass
finch radiation within the Estrildidae (Olsson and
Alström, 2020). The species shares a common
ancestor with Poephila finches (long-tailed P.
acuticauda; black-throated P. cincta; and
masked finch P. personata), diverging around
2.9 million years ago (Singhal et al., 2015). For-
merly, the zebra finch was placed in a genus
with the double-barred finch (Taeniopygia biche-
novii), but in fact these two lineages diverged
around 3.5 million years ago (Singhal et al.,
2015).
Two subspecies of the zebra finch are recog-
nized, with the continental Australian taxon (T.
guttata castanotis) having no clear genetic struc-
ture and apparently mating randomly within its
breeding population (Balakrishnan and
Edwards, 2009). The other subspecies is the
Timor zebra finch (T. g. guttata), found to the
north of Australia. The genetic divergence
between the two lineages suggests that the lat-
Figure 2. Timeline and brain pathways of auditory and vocal learning in the zebra finch. (A) ter taxon colonized the Lesser Sunda Islands
Timeline of sensory (auditory learning) and sensory-motor (vocal self-assessment and song- around 1 million years ago and has a reduced
production) critical periods in zebra finch song development. (B) Brain nuclei of male zebra diversity and genetic distance driven by found-
finches for auditory learning (CN: cochlear nucleus; MLd: mesencephalicus lateralis pars ing effects and selection, relative to the conti-
dorsalis; OV: nucleus ovoidalis; field L: primary auditory forebrain input area; NCM:
nental subspecies (Balakrishnan and Edwards,
caudomedial nidopallium; CMM: caudomedial mesopallium; VTA: ventral tegmental area;
and AIV: ventral portion of the intermediate arcopallium), vocal learning (HVC, Area X: basal
2009). The insular subspecies has also been
ganglia; LMAN: lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium; DLM: nucleus occasionally studied in captivity, and it differs
dorsolateralis anterior thalami, pars medialis), and vocal production (HVC, and RA: robust from the continental Australian subspecies in
nucleus of the arcopallium). morphological and behavioral traits, including
song rate and mate choice (Clayton, 1990;
Clayton et al., 1991).
By tapping into the existing genetic and The two subspecies of the zebra finch are
behavioral diversity of wild and captive lineages physically isolated from one another in the wild,
in zebra finches (e.g. Forstmeier et al., 2007; but they can readily hybridize and be back-
Knief et al., 2015) to perform comparative avian crossed in captivity to examine a range of ques-
genomic analyses (Jarvis et al., 2014; tions in classical genetics and functional devel-
Feng et al., 2020), interspecific hybridization opmental biology. To date, this approach has
studies (Woolley and Sakata, 2019; seen limited application, with just one study
Wang et al., 2019), and direct genetic manipu- looking at the divergence in gene regulation
lations (Liu et al., 2015; London, 2020), the between the two subspecies (Davidson and
zebra finch shall continue to serve as a focal sub- Balakrishnan, 2016). Whilst this direction could
ject of integrative research into human lan- provide an extremely valuable new research
guage-like vocal culture (Hyland Bruno et al., opportunity, a major logistical challenge to over-
2021), auditory learning (Theunissen et al., come will be the capture and export of birds
2004), acoustically-mediated social bonding from Indonesia, or the continued maintenance of
(Tokarev et al., 2017), and genetic distinct (non-hybrid) domesticated populations
(Balakrishnan et al., 2010) and behavioral (e. of T. g. guttata in captivity.
Hauber et al. eLife 2021;10:e61849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849 3 of 19Feature Article The Natural History of Model Organisms: Insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch
Box 1. Outstanding questions in zebra finch research.
. Female zebra finches do not sing but have a diverse repertoire of cooperative calls and
other social behavioral displays. What is the neurogenomic and ontogenetic basis of
this lack of singing in females?
. Can gene editing become standard practice in both ontogenetic and adult-onset
manipulations of the genomic architecture and gene activational basis of focal zebra
finch traits, including imitative song learning and auditory feedback in the maintenance
of crystallized song production?
. What is the genomic and transcriptomic mechanism of hair-cell regeneration in the
songbird inner ear and can it be transferred to human hearing loss treatments?
. What is the genomic and physiological basis of aseasonal reproduction in nomadic
zebra finches?
A model species for the analysis of With a clutch size of between 2 and 9 eggs
sex differences in vocal learning (mode: 5), and with brood reduction rates that
and production? can be less than 30%, each reproductive bout is
Zebra finches have a relatively short generation typically rapid and productive. In the wild, zebra
time for altricial birds (those that are underde- finches pair for life, and partners are found in
veloped at the time of hatching): they become close proximity during both the breeding and
sexually mature at between 90 and 100 days of non-breeding periods (Mariette and Griffith,
age in captivity, at which point they are ready to 2012; McCowan et al., 2015). In captivity, this
strong pair bond is preceded by rapid pairing,
form pair bonds, build nests, and breed
with singletons forming pair bonds within days
(Zann, 1996). They are highly social and can be
or weeks when introduced into a new cage or
kept at great densities in shared housing with a
aviary (Rutstein et al., 2007; Campbell et al.,
relative absence of highly antagonistic behav-
2009). The strength of the pair bond, the high
iors. This is likely to be related to the level of
levels of affiliative behaviors, and the relative
sociality and the highly fluid flock-wide social
absence of antagonism between partners also
relationships seen in the wild (McCowan et al., allow zebra finches to be kept in
2015; Brandl et al., 2019a), as individuals con- easily monitored single-pair cages, rather than in
gregate around food and water, and nest in communal aviaries (Zann, 1996).
close proximity in loose colonies for apparent However, it was not just ease of breeding in
social benefits (Brandl et al., 2019b). captivity that turned the zebra finch into a popu-
Provided with sufficient water, nesting sites, lar model for studying the development of sex-
and nest materials, and one (or more) mate(s) of ual dichromatism and vocal dimorphism. Rather,
the opposite sex, zebra finches can successfully an initial interest in the distinct plumage and the
reproduce on a predominantly seed-based diet, vocal differences between adult female (drab-
simplifying husbandry, even during the nestling ber, non-singing) and male (more colorful, sing-
stage. Indeed, under a broad range of environ- ing) zebra finches resulted in several, now
mental and social conditions in captivity, when classic, developmental studies. Some of these
given the infrastructure (e.g. nesting platform or studies concentrated on the role of early life
cavity and materials) to breed, most pairs will experience, through chromatic and vocal sexual
breed successfully within a short time frame imprinting, on females choosing attractive males
(Griffith et al., 2017), and the life history can be as mates, while others focused on
followed across many generations in a relatively song production and song preference learning
short period of time (e.g. Briga et al., 2019). by male and female zebra finches (e.g. Clay-
ton, 1987; Eales, 1987). For example, cross-
Hauber et al. eLife 2021;10:e61849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849 4 of 19Feature Article The Natural History of Model Organisms: Insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch
fostering zebra finch chicks with the ‘universal (Figure 2B) were experimentally ablated, only
estrildid foster species’, the Bengalese finch the RA-projecting neurons were regenerated
(Lonchura striata vars. domestica; (Scharff et al., 2000). In turn, a new social envi-
Sonnemann and Sjölander, 1977), revealed that ronment (e.g. through the exposure to novel avi-
both visual and acoustic cues of social parents ary mates: Barnea et al., 2006, and/or ongoing
are learned during early development and used auditory experiences: Pytte et al., 2010) may
by young zebra finches of both sexes in mate also contribute to the diminished apoptosis of
preference following maturity (ten Cate, 1987; newly generated caudomedial nidopallium
Campbell and Hauber, 2009; Verzijden et al., (NCM) neurons (Figure 2B) in the forebrains of
2012). This occurs through a two-stage process adults.
of sexual imprinting (ten Cate, 1985; ten Cate Second, hair cell regeneration following a
and Voss, 1999). loud noise or antibiotic treatment in both Ben-
These ontogenetic, physiological, and behav- galese (Woolley and Rubel, 2002) and zebra
ioral studies since the last quarter of the 20th finches (Dooling and Dent, 2001) occurs rap-
century (e.g. Price, 1979) have become increas- idly, as it does in other, non-oscine birds
ingly coupled with the rapid advances of neuro- (Stone and Rubel, 2000) and in some other ver-
anatomical and neurophysiological imaging, tebrate lineages (e.g. fish: Monroe et al., 2015).
genome sequencing, and transcriptomic and Research into such auditory system regeneration
epigenetic analyses of the neural circuitries of abilities in birds and other animals had strongly
song production in the forebrains of songbirds promised, but has thus far evaded, broadly
(reviewed in Mooney, 2009; Mooney, 2014) applicable biomedical solutions for curing cell-
and song perception (reviewed in Louder et al., death based hearing losses in humans
2019). For instance, neurophysiological (Brigande and Heller, 2009; Menendez et al.,
(Hauber et al., 2013), neuroanatomical 2020).
(Lauay et al., 2005), immediate-early gene
(Tomaszycki et al., 2006), and transcriptomic
analyses (Louder et al., 2018) performed on Differences in captive vs. wild
zebra finch females that were reared either in zebra finches and comparisons
isolation from any male birdsong or in the pres- with northern hemisphere
ence of a different songbird species have con- songbirds
firmed the critical role of early life experience in Most of the populations of zebra finches in
generating adaptive cognitive-behavioral research laboratories around the world have
(Price, 1979), neurogenomic (Louder et al., been founded with birds held by aviculturists for
2018) and neurophysiological (Moore and over a hundred generations (Zann, 1996;
Woolley, 2019) responses to conspecific songs. Griffith et al., 2017). These populations have
Similarly, the known upregulation of stress therefore been subject to both direct and indi-
responses of formerly pair-bonded, but then rect forms of natural and artificial selection, as
separated captive zebra finches (Remage- well as founding effects, genetic drift, and
Healey et al., 2003), is also reported to impact inbreeding (Forstmeier et al., 2007;
the epigenomic status of similarly treated birds Knief et al., 2015). It has long been known that
(George et al., 2020). birds of the domesticated stocks are up to 30%
Despite the earlier prominence of the domes- larger in body size than their wild counterparts
tic canary (Serinus canaria) in the neurobiological (Zann, 1996), but reassuringly they appear to be
study of song learning, two other research similar with respect to several life history trade-
themes have also benefited significantly from offs, including, for example, slow juvenile feather
follow-up studies of captive zebra finches. First, development and low adult song rates when
adult-onset neurogenesis, accompanying sea- nestlings are raised in large brood sizes (e.g.
sonal changes in song behavior, or damage to Tschirren et al., 2009). Captive birds are also
the underlying neural circuitry, was initially similar to their wild counterparts in respect to
extensively studied in the canary (e.g. Notte- the genomic architecture underlying complex
bohm, 1981), but with ongoing critical contribu- traits (Kim et al., 2017; Knief et al., 2016;
tions also coming from experiments on zebra Knief et al., 2017a), although some caution still
finches (e.g. Walton et al., 2012; reviewed in needs to be applied, for instance, to known dif-
Pytte, 2016). For example, when adult male ferences in linkage disequilibrium patterns within
zebra finches’ RA- (robust nucleus of the arco- the genomes of captive and wild populations
pallium) and Area X-projecting HVC neurons (Knief et al., 2017b).
Hauber et al. eLife 2021;10:e61849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849 5 of 19Feature Article The Natural History of Model Organisms: Insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch
The pattern of zebra finches being quite dif- In this respect, zebra finches may differ from
ferent from many of the species of small passer- similarly-sized well studied small passerines of
ines that are well studied by researchers in the the northern hemisphere temperate zone. Since
northern hemisphere may be of greater signifi- adult zebra finches are likely to live between 3
cance than the differences between captive and and 5 years in the wild (Zann, 1996) and can
wild populations of zebra finches. The zebra breed continuously throughout the year if condi-
finch is an estrildid (Sorenson et al., 2004; tions are favorable (Griffith et al., 2017), they
Olsson and Alström, 2020), a family that is can potentially accrue considerable experience
endemic to the tropics, and found across Africa, as part of the sexual-parental partnership. The
Southern Asia, and Australasia – with the whole reproductive benefits of better physiological and
lineage having evolved far from the ecological behavioral coordination between partners (e.g.
and evolutionary pressures of the temperate Adkins-Regan and Tomaszycki, 2007;
northern hemisphere. One of the almost ubiqui- Smiley and Adkins-Regan, 2016; Hurley et al.,
tous characteristics of the estrildid family is the 2020) may outweigh the benefits of frequent
interseasonal strength of the socially monoga- and repeated partner switching and genetic infi-
mous pair-bond and biparental care for the delity (Griffith, 2019). In turn, the value of the
young (Payne, 2010). partnership may promote selection for diverse
Prior breeding experience enhances the suc- affiliative and cooperative traits, not always seen
cess of subsequent breeding bouts by female in the widely studied passerines of the more sea-
zebra finches through increased output and sonally constrained northern hemisphere, where
shorter times between clutches, even when most individuals breed just once or twice in a
breeding with a new male in this otherwise life- lifetime (Griffith, 2019). Rather, these traits are
time pair-bonded species (Adkins-Regan and reminiscent of the long-term cooperative breed-
Tomaszycki, 2007; Smiley and Adkins-Regan, ing partnerships formed (and the fitness costs
2016; Hurley et al., 2020). Relatively high paid following divorce or mate loss) by long-
within-pair sexual fidelity and cooperation in lived biparental seabirds (e.g. Ismar et al.,
nest building, incubation, and provisioning also 2010).
allow for the directed breeding of known pairs Indeed, the strength of the pair bond in the
both in large aviaries and in small single-pair wild zebra finch is seen in the expression of
cages. Nevertheless, in socially housed groups, acoustic communication throughout the year,
both conspecific brood parasitism – inducible by and high levels of coordinated duetting between
simulated nest predation in captivity (Shaw and the male and female (Elie et al., 2010). This
Hauber, 2009) and accounting for 5 to 11% of close, and regular vocal interaction between the
offspring (Griffith et al., 2010) – as well as members of a pair also perhaps plays a role in
extra-pair paternity – accounting for around 30% individual vocal recognition in this species
of offspring in aviaries (Forstmeier et al., 2011) (Levréro et al., 2009; Elie and Theunissen,
– can partially confound social parentage, 2018; Yu et al., 2020).
although extrapair paternity is almost entirely Highly coordinated acoustic interactions
absent in the wild (accounting for ~1% of off- between female and male partners are a charac-
spring; Griffith et al., 2010). teristic of the earliest passerine lineages as they
A major effort of laboratory-based work on had evolved in Australia (Odom et al., 2014).
the zebra finch has focused on females’ mate The continuously high level of overall acoustic
choices (especially with respect to beak color activity in the zebra finch, which has made it
and learned song; Griffith and Buchanan, such an attractive model system for neurobiol-
2010a). However, despite considerable variance ogy, sets it apart from many other well studied
in the reproductive success of individuals even in passerines in the northern hemisphere. This
captive populations (Griffith et al., 2017; serves to remind us that although most of the
Wang et al., 2017), one of the most compre- laboratory work is conducted in the northern
hensive studies examining the consequence of hemisphere, the zebra finch is, in many respects,
mate choice on fitness found no evidence that different from most of the short-lived highly sea-
either males or females are targeting this varia- sonally breeding passerines native to the tem-
tion in individual quality when they choose a perate zone of the northern hemisphere.
partner (Wang et al., 2017). This finding sup- Indeed, it is important to understand that the
ports the idea that the strength of a partnership species’ adaptations to the highly unpredictable
is of greater value than the intrinsic quality of Australian climate and ecology – while making it
the individuals involved. so easy to maintain and breed in captivity – also
Hauber et al. eLife 2021;10:e61849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849 6 of 19Feature Article The Natural History of Model Organisms: Insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch
set it apart from most other northern hemi- extremely small differences in calls and songs
sphere lineages that could not be used in labo- (Prior et al., 2018). However, experiences with
ratories to anywhere near the same extent. other songs in adulthood do not affect the crys-
tallized songs of males. Given the parallels with
language acquisition and speech development
Genes and brains for vocal in humans, zebra finches have thus long served
learning as an important model for studying the neural
The process through which developing young mechanisms that control how vocal signals are
memorize the acoustic communication signals of memorized and copied (Doupe and Kuhl,
adults in humans and songbirds has been a criti- 1999).
cal research rationale and funding source sup- Initial research in the neurobiology of song-
porting zebra finch studies. The learning of adult birds, primarily with canaries, has revealed the
male songs by juveniles is particularly strong components and plasticity of the neural loops
during early sensory periods, when embryos and circuits responsive to learning and produc-
(Antonson et al., 2021), nestlings (Rivera et al., ing songs (Figure 2B). Over time, studies of the
2019), and juveniles (Brainard and Doupe, zebra finch (a species that crystallizes its specific
2000) likely form a sensory representation of the song once and does not deviate from it unless
’tutor song’ (Figure 3). Just as juvenile females experiencing trauma or training) have become
develop long-term song-type preferences used increasingly more instructive in the pursuit of
for mate choice based on early experiences with identifying where in the forebrain the auditory
their own fathers (Riebel, 2000; Chen et al., memories are stored and how this representa-
2017), young males also learn and then actively tion directs both vocal learning in males and
practice to produce songs that match their mate choice preferences in females (reviewed in
paternal (tutor) songs (Tchernichovski et al., Hauber et al., 2010). Accordingly, following the
2001; Figure 3). Tutors even alter their song presentation of tape-recorded songs of conspe-
structure when singing near young tutees, which cifics, the expression level of an immediate-early
influences the song learning process for young gene, egr-1 (also known as ZENK), which is asso-
zebra finches, analogous to humans changing ciated with neural activation, increases within
their speech when speaking to infants the zebra finch auditory forebrain, as found in
(Chen et al., 2016; Carouso-Peck and Gold- other songbird species (Mello et al., 1992;
stein, 2019). Louder et al., 2016).
However, even in the case of strong social Furthermore, neural responses within the
environmental impact upon song learning during NCM, a subregion of the auditory forebrain, are
the sensitive period, the genetic make-up of selective for tutor songs (Yanagihara and
individuals may contribute to the resulting song Yazaki-Sugiyama, 2016) and song-induced
preferences and vocal production patterns expression of neural transcription factors (again,
through gene-by-environment interactions ZENK) also positively correlate with the
(Mets and Brainard, 2019). Accordingly, in increased similarity of the bird’s copied song to
zebra finches, males preferentially learn to sing that of the tutor (Bolhuis et al., 2000), which
from song tutors of the same species over those together suggest that this region may hold the
of another species when given equal access tutor song’s memory. Accordingly, NCM lesions
(Clayton, 1988), and both song-naı̈ve and cross- in adult male zebra finches reduce their ability to
fostered females show greater neuronal spike recognize songs, but not to produce them
rates in response to unfamiliar conspecific over (Gobes and Bolhuis, 2007). In female zebra
an unfamiliar third species’ songs (Hauber et al., finches, on the other hand, behavioral preferen-
2013). Similarly, the species-specific typical pat- ces for conspecific versus heterospecific songs
tern of socially learned song structure can cultur- can be eliminated by damaging the nearby
ally evolve across of just a handful of CMM nucleus (caudomedial mesopallium) (Mac-
generations in initially naı̈ve zebra finch popula- Dougall-Shackleton et al., 1998).
tions (Fehér et al., 2009; Diez and MacDougall- Overall, the zebra finch remains the best
Shackleton, 2020). model system to characterize the neural circuitry
In adulthood, male and female zebra finches involved in vocal learning and production, with
can quickly memorize individual vocal character- an often-stated research aim to better under-
istics and recognize the identity of others for at stand the capacity of imitative speech learning in
least a month without reinforcement (Yu et al., humans (e.g. Lipkind et al., 2013). Juvenile
2020), likely relying on the perception of male zebra finches mimic the tutor song while
Hauber et al. eLife 2021;10:e61849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849 7 of 19Feature Article The Natural History of Model Organisms: Insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch
Figure 3. Spectrograms of zebra finch songs and calls. Spectrogram of tutor and tutee adult male zebra finch
songs, and undirected contact calls of adult females and males. Spectrograms represent time (x-axes) and pitch (y-
axes) with greater amplitude as increasing brightness. Note the similarity of the tutor (typically social father) and
tutee (son) song pair of male zebra finches and the distinct sexual differences of the calls.
females only produce non-learned ‘calls’ (Fig- 2008) to generate stereotyped adult songs
ure 3). In turn, several regions in the zebra finch (Simpson and Vicario, 1990). In turn, while sing-
brain associated with song production are dra- ing, neurons in the HVC that connect to the
matically larger in male zebra finches, a result of robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) perform
neurons in some of these regions atrophying in time-locked bursts of firing, coincident with pre-
females while increasing in size and connections cise sequences during the song
in males (Figure 2B; Konishi and Akutagawa, (Hahnloser et al., 2002). HVC neurons also
1985). Several of these regions selectively ontogenetically shift their spike rates to become
respond to the ‘bird’s-own-song’ in anesthetized increasingly sparser while producing the male’s
males (Doupe and Konishi, 1991), which initially song (Okubo et al., 2015), whereas the spike
suggested a specialized function for this circuit trains of RA neurons lock into the timing of
in producing songs; however, the role of such song’s note identity (Ac and Margoliash, 2008).
own-song specific auditory responses is no lon- By altering the local temperature of specific
ger clear, as they are gated by behavioral states brain nuclei, Long and Fee, 2008 demonstrated
(Hessler and Doupe, 1999) and much less pro- that the temporal match between HVC, but not
nounced in awake birds (Schmidt and Konishi, RA, and the song‘s timing pattern is a causal
1998). link, as cooling the HVC, but not the RA, slows
The premotor circuit for song production down the song without affecting its frequency
receives input from auditory nuclei via the HVC, content. This demonstrates how and which ele-
which then projects to the RA, and subsequently ments of this forebrain circuit are critical to con-
connects to the brainstem motor nuclei and syr- trolling the temporal structure of male songs
inx (Figure 2B). This ‘motor pathway’ is crucial and, in the Bengalese finch, their syntax, too
during the learning process (Aronov et al., (Zhang et al., 2017). By contrast, the anterior
Hauber et al. eLife 2021;10:e61849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849 8 of 19Feature Article The Natural History of Model Organisms: Insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch
forebrain pathway (AFP), homologous to the finch neuroscience hold promise to further iden-
mammalian basal ganglia–thalamocortical path- tify and understand the neural basis of vocal
way, is required for vocal learning in juvenile learning and production in general.
male zebra finches, but not the production of Following the widespread use of immediate
stereotyped adult song (Bottjer et al., 1984). In early gene studies (see above), some of the
this pathway, Area X and the lateral magnocellu- research efforts aiming to characterize the genes
lar nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (LMAN) that regulate zebra finch vocal and auditory
are involved in producing song variability in juve- behaviors, in particular genes related to vocal
nile birds during vocal learning (Woolley and production in the brain, were based on utilizing
Kao, 2015; Figure 2B). DNA microarrays (Wada et al., 2006). Then, in
Specifically, both theoretical modelling 2010 an international consortium sequenced,
(including in humans) and experimental studies assembled, and annotated the first zebra finch
of this pathway (in zebra finches) have pointed genome (Warren et al., 2010), only the second
to the critical role of vocal motor variability as avian genome presented. This effort revealed
the substrate upon which trial-and-error learning the sequences of over 17,000 predicted protein-
through reinforcement mechanisms may operate coding genes, as well as many regulatory
to shape vocal production ontogeny regions and non-coding RNAs. More impor-
(Dhawale et al., 2017). In turn, the AFP is also tantly, the annotated genome enhanced the
involved in auditory-feedback based acoustic next decade’s analyses into identifying the
correction signaling for the motor pathway, in genes and regulatory networks that are involved
that inactivation of LMAN in young male zebra in social behavior, including genome-wide inves-
finches regresses experimentally induced, tigations into vocal learning, such as auditory-
recently learned changes in the subjects’ song experience induced RNA expression
pitch (Andalman and Fee, 2009). Finally, gene (Louder et al., 2018), microRNA expression
expression patterns, including genes associated (Gunaratne et al., 2011), and epigenetically
with speech in humans such as the transcription regulated genes associated with developmental
factor FOXP2, are highly expressed in the ante- song learning (Kelly et al., 2018). Furthermore,
rior forebrain pathway during sensitive periods the initial genome helped researchers to identify
for song learning, indicating potential genetic and map the expression patterns of ~650 candi-
parallels of vocal plasticity in birds and humans date genes within the brain of zebra finches,
(Haesler, 2004; Pfenning et al., 2014). resulting in an online atlas database that pro-
How the memorized tutor song instructs vides an opportunity to link behavior, neuroanat-
vocal pathways remains unclear. However, omy, and molecular function (Lovell et al.,
research in the zebra finch points to the involve- 2020).
ment of nuclei within and outside of the anterior A recent high quality, second generation
forebrain pathway. Auditory feedback, in which genome of the zebra finch, presented as part of
self-uttered and self-heard vocalizations are the Vertebrate Genomes Project, improves the
compared to a memorized song pattern, is nec- accuracy of the reference genome assembly and
essary for the development of song in juveniles annotation (Rhie et al., 2021). Leveraging recent
and the maintenance of song in adult zebra technological advances, such as long-read
finches (Price, 1979; Nordeen and Nordeen, sequencing (up to 100 Kbp) and approaches to
1992; Leonardo and Konishi, 1999). Dopami- detect how DNA interacts across genomic loci
nergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area (up to 100 Mbp), the latest updated zebra finch
(VTA) that project to the anterior forebrain path- genome thus resolves numerous regions with
way through Area X encode perceived errors in repetitive elements and enhanced gene annota-
song performance from auditory feedback tion from the first assembly.
(Gadagkar et al., 2016; Figure 2B). The VTA In parallel with genomic advances, a suite of
receives error signals from auditory feedback new neurobiological techniques available for
through the AIV, which receives connections zebra finches will only continue to increase the
from the auditory forebrain (Kearney et al., ability to understand the development of vocal
2019). Furthermore, neurons within the auditory learning and behavior. Questions regarding the
forebrain also demonstrate sensitivity to errors activity of specific neurons can now be tackled
in auditory feedback (Keller and Hahnloser, using multi-electrode arrays (e.g. Lim et al.,
2009). Such developments, for example regard- 2016; Tanaka et al., 2018) or wireless neurote-
ing error sensitivity, also illustrate how ongoing lemetry (Ma et al., 2020) able to simultaneously
research and continued breakthroughs in zebra record the activity of numerous neurons in
Hauber et al. eLife 2021;10:e61849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849 9 of 19Feature Article The Natural History of Model Organisms: Insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch
awake and freely-behaving birds. Imaging the consistency as a result of the treatment
neural connections between distant brain (Liu et al., 2015). However, to date neither a
regions is now also possible with tissue clearing TALEN nor a CRISPR/Cas9 vector-based gene
and light-sheet microscopy (Rocha et al., 2019). editing approach has taken off in avian (chicken
The experimental regulation of the expres- or songbird) lineages (Woodcock et al., 2017;
sion of candidate genes in targeted areas of the but see Cooper et al., 2018). With additional
zebra finch brain has also recently become avail- research, the zebra finch could be further
able. Existing or new gene constructs can be explored as to which gene delivery and genomic
inserted into neonatal (hatchling) zebra finches editing methods will be widely and effectively
via electroporation-based gene construct deliv- applicable to this species.
ery to study the genetics of vocal learning as
songs are memorized, practiced, and first
expressed by young males The importance of studying
(Ahmadiantehrani and London, 2017). Similarly, female zebra finches
genetically modified constructs of nonpatho- Female zebra finches only slowly and partially
genic viruses injected in the brain, such as assumed a role in some of the earlier behavioral
adeno-associated virus (AAV), are able to drive and developmental studies on sexual imprinting
the expression of certain genes. (e.g. Collins et al., 1994), but now maintain a
Viral constructs were developed to control co-lead position. This is because mate choice is
the expression of FOXP2 (e.g. Heston and mutual in this species and females participate in
White, 2015; Norton et al., 2019), which is the ever-important initial pair-bonding decisions,
expressed in the song control regions within the as well as in all aspects of collaborative biparen-
male zebra finch forebrain and associated with tal care (Riebel, 2009). As such, females make a
inherited speech and language disorder in critical contribution to the phenotype of their
humans (Fisher and Scharff, 2009). Viral con- offspring through their investments into eggs,
structs have also been useful in imaging, such as and the care of dependent offspring
expressing a genetically encoded calcium indica- (Griffith and Buchanan, 2010b). Still, in study-
tor (GCaMP6s) for calcium imaging of neuron ing the neurobiological basis of species and
populations with 2-photon microscopy mate recognition, and the relevant funding and
(Picardo et al., 2016) or the expression of green publications, female-focused research took a
fluorescent protein (GFP). Recent applications of secondary role during the earlier decades when
viral constructs have also enabled researchers to much of the work focused on the developing
control neurons with light (optogenetics), such and adult sensory-motor circuitries of the male
as ‘implanting’ artificial song memories into the zebra finch forebrain.
zebra finch brain (Zhao et al., 2019), or control- In the last two decades, however, there has
ling the firing of specific neurons, such as the been a definite upsurgence of studies focusing
VTA neurons that project to Area X (Xiao et al., on female zebra finches, both from the perspec-
2018; Kearney et al., 2019). Harnessing these tive of the neurosensory-ontogenetic processes
new techniques enables us to tackle how genetic of conspecific (Theunissen et al., 2004;
pathways are linked to vocal learning and motor Woolley et al., 2010), mate (Lauay et al., 2004;
control circuits. Tokarev et al., 2017), and individual recognition
However, the utility of the zebra finch as a (Vignal et al., 2004; D’Amelio et al., 2017;
neurogenetic model laboratory species has been Yu et al., 2020) by and of females. It is becom-
somewhat inhibited by the low success rate in ing clear that female visual and acoustic displays
the development of transgenic lines that would serve an important role in the development and
enable direct experimental modification of the fine-tuning of male vocalizations during sensitive
gene expression patterns in the relevant vocal- periods (Benichov et al., 2016; Carouso-
production and vocal-perception circuits. This Peck and Goldstein, 2019) and that male vocal
may be due to the unique immune function of and/or visual displays serve in the activation of
oscine birds inhibiting full viral delivery of gene auditory forebrain regions in adult females
constructs (London, 2020). Nevertheless, the (Avey et al., 2005; Day et al., 2019).
last decade has already seen the successful inno- For example, the reduced volume of the song
vation of lentiviral delivery (e.g. Norton et al., control system that exists in the female zebra
2019) of, for example, human Huntington’s Dis- finch brain is likely not at all vestigial
ease genes into zebra finch lineages, to causally (Shaughnessy et al., 2019) and may be even
demonstrate reduced vocal imitation and output more functional than previously thought,
Hauber et al. eLife 2021;10:e61849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849 10 of 19Feature Article The Natural History of Model Organisms: Insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch
enabling plasticity in the vocal timing of calls in populations were unable to achieve the neces-
social interactions (Benichov et al., 2016). In sary manipulative rigor, the zebra finch, found
turn, female (and male) parental vocal communi- commonly in pet shops throughout Europe and
cation with embryos in ovo in the nest have also North America, became widely adopted as a
been discovered to shape not only the functional surrogate captive experimental model. In paral-
neurogenomic responses of the embryos them- lel with its use in early ethological research, the
selves (Rivera et al., 2019) but also the acoustic zebra finch became established as an easier
tutor choice of young male zebra finches model than the canary for studying the neural
(Katsis et al., 2018), as well as adult behavioral basis of song, which in turn saw the former spe-
phenotypes and reproductive success cies adopted as a model for genomics, neurosci-
(Mariette and Buchanan, 2016). ence, and developmental biology.
Finally, the behavioral, the neurophysiological The zebra finch has provided great insights
and gene-activational bases of perceptual learn- into diverse fields in biology and has travelled a
ing of conspecific song features appear to be long path from its natural habitat in arid Aus-
both species-specific in song-naı̈ve (mother-only tralia. It is important to be mindful that the traits
parent raised) female zebra finches and depen- that have contributed to its utility and adoption
dent on early social experience with con- or as ‘the’ avian laboratory model species for basic
cross-fostered heterospecific male songs and biomedical research set it aside from most
(Hauber et al., 2013; Louder et al., 2018). other avian species. The zebra finch evolved in
Some of these latter discoveries in females have an austral ecological setting that is profoundly
been made possible through cross-fostering nes- different from those in the many geographic
tling zebra finches with estrildid finch tutors of regions where most of this laboratory work takes
other species (e.g. Clayton, 1987). Critically, the place.
results from females have now also been both The zebra finch remains almost uniquely
replicated and advanced in cross-fostered males. suited as a model system for research and the
Specifically, the extent of heterospecific song path ahead is likely to be productive and insight-
learning in males can be directly measured by ful in established and new areas of research. The
the altered songs that they produce following late Richard Zann’s excellent monograph of the
experimental manipulation of early song expo- species (1996), whilst already over two decades
sure, and compared with the extent of neuro- old, still provides an excellent overview into the
physiological response selectivity for conspecific natural history of the species, and is never far
(innate) vs. heterospecific (learned) tutor songs from our desks, for the insight that it brings. We
and their contributory bioacoustic features in the encourage future adopters of the zebra finch as
brain (Moore and Woolley, 2019). In turn, a research model to use this book to guide their
cross-fostered males singing the foster species’ planning and to help interpret their results. The
song famously show an inability to copy the tem- zebra finch is the most widely researched labora-
poral pattern of heterospecific songs, discov- tory songbird in the world because of its unique-
ered to be due to a lack of ontogenetic ness, and not as a result of any advocacy.
flexibility in the neurons that encode heterospe-
cific song-gap (silent period between song Acknowledgements
bouts) perception again within field L of the We thank our many colleagues working with
auditory forebrain (Araki et al., 2016). zebra finches for productive discussions, includ-
ing the editors and the referees of eLife. M Riv-
era and O Tchernichovski kindly provided song
Conclusions and call files of adult zebra finches. We dedicate
The zebra finch was not originally brought into
our article to the memories of the late Richard
the laboratory as a model system, nor champ-
Zann and Mark Konishi. FUNDING Financial sup-
ioned as such by early research pioneers. From
port was provided by the Harley Jones Van
the 1950s onwards, the species has been pro-
Cleave Professorship and the National Science
gressively adopted as a useful focus of study in
Foundation IOS # 1456524 (to MIML and MEH).
an increasing set of research fields, largely due
to its accessibility and the ease with which it can Mark E Hauber is in the Department of Evolution,
be held and bred in captivity. In contrast, wild Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology,
passerine birds have long been the focus of eco- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-
logical and evolutionary research in the northern Champaign, United States
hemisphere. When studies of free-living study mhauber@illinois.edu
Hauber et al. eLife 2021;10:e61849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849 11 of 19Feature Article The Natural History of Model Organisms: Insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2014-4928 Ahmadiantehrani S, London SE. 2017. A reliable and
flexible gene manipulation strategy in posthatch zebra
Matthew IM Louder is in the International Research
finch brain. Scientific Reports 7:43244. DOI: https://
Center for Neurointelligence, University of Tokyo, doi.org/10.1038/srep43244, PMID: 28233828
Tokyo, Japan and the Department of Biology, Texas Andalman AS, Fee MS. 2009. A basal ganglia-
A&M University, College Station, United States forebrain circuit in the songbird biases motor output
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4421-541X to avoid vocal errors. PNAS 106:12518–12523.
Simon C Griffith is in the Department of Biological DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0903214106,
Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia PMID: 19597157
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7612-4999 Andrew SC, Hurley LL, Mariette MM, Griffith SC.
2017. Higher temperatures during development
reduce body size in the zebra finch in the laboratory
Author contributions: Mark E Hauber, Conceptualiza-
and in the wild. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 30:
tion, Writing - original draft, Project administration,
2156–2164. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13181,
Writing - review and editing; Matthew IM Louder, Writ- PMID: 28976621
ing - original draft, Writing - review and editing; Simon Antonson ND, Rivera M, Abolins-Abols M, Kleindorfer
C Griffith, Conceptualization, Writing - original draft, S, Liu WC, Hauber ME. 2021. Early acoustic experience
Writing - review and editing alters genome-wide methylation in the auditory
forebrain of songbird embryos. Neuroscience Letters
Competing interests: The authors declare that no 755:135917. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.
competing interests exist. 2021.135917, PMID: 33901611
Araki M, Bandi MM, Yazaki-Sugiyama Y. 2016. Mind
Received 06 August 2020
the gap: neural coding of species identity in birdsong
Accepted 08 June 2021
prosody. Science 354:1282–1287. DOI: https://doi.
Published 09 June 2021 org/10.1126/science.aah6799, PMID: 27940872
Aronov D, Andalman AS, Fee MS. 2008. A specialized
Funding forebrain circuit for vocal babbling in the juvenile
Grant reference songbird. Science 320:630–634. DOI: https://doi.org/
Funder number Author 10.1126/science.1155140, PMID: 18451295
National Science IOS1456524 Mark E Hauber Avey MT, Phillmore LS, MacDougall-Shackleton SA.
Foundation 2005. Immediate early gene expression following
exposure to acoustic and visual components of
The funders had no role in study design, data collection courtship in zebra finches. Behavioural Brain Research
and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work 165:247–253. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2005.
for publication. 07.002, PMID: 16095729
Balakrishnan CN, Edwards SV, Clayton DF. 2010. The
zebra finch genome and avian genomics in the wild.
Emu - Austral Ornithology 110:233–241. DOI: https://
Decision letter and Author response doi.org/10.1071/MU09087
Decision letter https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849.sa1 Balakrishnan CN, Edwards SV. 2009. Nucleotide
Author response https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61849. variation, linkage disequilibrium and founder-
facilitated speciation in wild populations of the zebra
sa2
finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Genetics 181:645–660.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.108.094250,
PMID: 19047416
Additional files Barnea A, Mishal A, Nottebohm F. 2006. Social and
spatial changes induce multiple survival regimes for
Data availability new neurons in two regions of the adult brain: an
No new data were generated in this study. anatomical representation of time? Behavioural Brain
Research 167:63–74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
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