The Progressive Loss of Syntactical Structure in Bird Song along an Island Colonization Chain
Cultural transmission can increase the flexibility of behavior, such as bird song. Nevertheless, this flexibility often appears to be constrained, sometimes by preferences for learning certain traits over others, a phenomenon known as "biased" learning or transmission [1]. The sequential colonization of the Atlantic Islands by the chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) [2] provides a unique model system in
