Effects of the depletion of neural progenitors by focal X-ray irradiation on song production and perception in canaries.

The song control nucleus HVC of songbirds has emerged as a widespread model system to study adult neurogenesis and the factors that modulate the incorporation of new neurons, including seasonal state, sex differences or sex steroid hormone concentrations. However, the specific function of these new neurons born in adulthood remains poorly understood. We implemented a new procedure based on focal X-ray irradiation to deplete neural progenitors in the ventricular zone adjacent to HVC and study the functional consequences. A 23 Gy dose depleted by more than 50 percent the incorporation of BrdU in neural progenitors, a depletion that was confirmed by a significant decrease in doublecortin positive neurons. This depletion of neurogenesis significantly increased the variability of testosterone-induced songs in females and decreased their bandwidth. Expression of the immediate early gene ZENK in secondary auditory areas of the telencephalon that respond to song was also inhibited. These data provide evidence that new neurons in HVC play a role in both song production and perception and that X-ray focal irradiation represents an excellent tool to advance our understanding of adult neurogenesis.

Does the syrinx, a peripheral structure, constrain effects of sex steroids on behavioral sex reversal in adult canaries?

We previously confirmed that effects of testosterone (T) on singing activity and on the volume of brain song control nuclei are sexually differentiated in adult canaries: females are limited in their ability to respond to T as males do. Here we expand on these results by focusing on sex differences in the production and performance of trills, i.e., rapid repetitions of song elements. We analyzed >42,000 trills recorded over a period of 6 weeks from 3 groups of castrated males and 3 groups of photoregressed females that received Silastic™ implants filled with T, T plus estradiol or left empty as control. Effects of T on the number of trills, trill duration and percent of time spent trilling were all stronger in males than females. Irrespective of endocrine treatment, trill performance assessed by vocal deviations from the trill rate versus trill bandwidth trade-off was also higher in males than in females. Finally, inter-individual differences in syrinx mass were positively correlated with specific features of trills in males but not in females. Given that T increases syrinx mass and syrinx fiber diameter in males but not in females, these data indicate that sex differences in trilling behavior are related to sex differences in syrinx mass and syrinx muscle fiber diameter that cannot be fully suppressed by sex steroids in adulthood. Sexual differentiation of behavior thus reflects organization not only of the brain but also of peripheral structures.

Social regulation of immediate early gene induction in gonadotropin releasing-hormone 1 neurons and singing behavior in canaries (Serinus canaria).

Social cues modulate the neuroendocrine control of reproduction. However, the neural systems involved in the integration of social cues are not well described. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone 1 (GnRH1) cells in the preoptic area (POA) are the final common node that links the brain with peripheral reproductive physiology. These experiments investigated whether induction of the immediate early gene, EGR1, in anatomically localized GnRH1 cell populations in Border canaries is regulated by the social environment. First, we characterized behavioral modifications in singing behavior and found males paired with a female for 2 weeks significantly reduced many aspects of singing behavior. However, paired males had a significantly higher percentage of GnRH1 cells co-labeled with EGR1. The second experiment manipulated the social environment by pairing males and females in mixed sex dyads, same sex dyads or housed birds in isolation. Only when birds are paired in mixed sex dyads was there a significantly greater percentage of GnRH1 cells expressing EGR1 cells. Increased GnRH1-EGR1 co-expression was localized to the rostral POA. These data reveal that discrete GnRH1 cells are involved in the neural integration of specific social cues and support the hypothesis that the POA exhibits functional topography related to courtship and sexual behaviors.

Photoperiodic control of singing behavior and reproductive physiology in male Fife fancy canaries.

Temperate-zone birds display marked seasonal changes in reproductive behaviors and the underlying hormonal and neural mechanisms. These changes were extensively studied in canaries (Serinus canaria) but differ between strains. Fife fancy male canaries change their reproductive physiology in response to variations in day length but it remains unclear whether they become photorefractory (PR) when exposed to long days and what the consequences are for gonadal activity, singing behavior and the associated neural plasticity. Photosensitive (PS) male birds that had become reproductively competent (high song output, large testes) after being maintained on short days (SD, 8 L:16D) for 6 months were divided into two groups: control birds remained on SD (SD-PS group) and experimental birds were switched to long days (16 L:8D) and progressively developed photorefractoriness (LD-PR group). During the following 12 weeks, singing behavior (quantitatively analyzed for 3 × 2 hours every week) and gonadal size (repeatedly measured by CT X-ray scans) remained similar in both groups but there was an increase in plasma testosterone and trill numbers in the LD-PR group. Day length was then decreased back to 8 L:16D for LD-PR birds, which immediately induced a cessation of song, a decrease in plasma testosterone concentration, in the volume of song control nuclei (HVC, RA and Area X), in HVC neurogenesis and in aromatase expression in the medial preoptic area. These data demonstrate that Fife fancy canaries readily respond to changes in photoperiod and display a pattern of photorefractoriness following exposure to long days that is associated with marked changes in brain and behavior.

Treatment with androgens plus estrogens cannot reverse sex differences in song and the song control nuclei in adult canaries.

Adult treatments with testosterone (T) do not activate singing behavior nor promote growth of song control nuclei to the same extent in male and female canaries (Serinus canaria). Because T acts in part via aromatization into an estrogen and brain aromatase activity is lower in females than in males in many vertebrates, we hypothesized that this enzymatic difference might explain the sex differences seen even after exposure to the same amount of T. Three groups of castrated males and 3 groups of photoregressed females (i.e., with quiescent ovaries following exposure to short days) received either 2 empty 10 mm silastic implants, one empty implant and one implant filled with T or one implant filled with T plus one with estradiol (E2). Songs were recorded for 3 h each week for 6 weeks before brains were collected and song control nuclei volumes were measured in Nissl-stained sections. Multiple measures of song were still different in males and females following treatment with T. Co-administration of E2 did not improve these measures and even tended to inhibit some measures such as song rate and song duration. The volume of forebrain song control nuclei (HVC, RA, Area X) and the rate of neurogenesis in HVC was increased by the two steroid treatments, but remained significantly smaller in females than in males irrespective of the endocrine condition. These sex differences are thus not caused by a lower aromatization of the steroid; sex differences in canaries are probably organized either by early steroid action or by sex-specific gene regulation directly in the brain.

Sex differences in seasonal brain plasticity and the neuroendocrine regulation of vocal behavior in songbirds.

Birdsong is controlled in part by a discrete network of interconnected brain nuclei regulated in turn by steroid hormones and environmental stimuli. This complex interaction results in neural changes that occur seasonally as the environment varies (e.g., photoperiod, food/water availability, etc.). Variation in environment, vocal behavior, and neuroendocrine control has been primarily studied in male songbirds in both laboratory studies of captive birds and field studies of wild caught birds. The bias toward studying seasonality in the neuroendocrine regulation of song in male birds comes from a historic focus on sexually selected male behaviors. In fact, given that male song is often loud and accompanied by somewhat extravagant courtship behaviors, female song has long been overlooked. To compound this bias, the primary model songbird species for studies in the lab, zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) and canaries (Serinus canaria), exhibit little or no female song. Therefore, understanding the degree of variation and neuroendocrine control of seasonality in female songbirds is a major gap in our knowledge. In this review, we discuss the importance of studying sex differences in seasonal plasticity and the song control system. Specifically, we discuss sex differences in 1) the neuroanatomy of the song control system, 2) the distribution of receptors for androgens and estrogens and 3) the seasonal neuroplasticity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis as well as in the neural and cellular mechanisms mediating song system changes. We also discuss how these neuroendocrine mechanisms drive sex differences in seasonal behavior. Finally, we highlight specific gaps in our knowledge and suggest experiments critical for filling these gaps.

Neuroendocrine and behavioral response to testosterone-induced female song in canaries (Serinus canaria).

Male song in songbirds is a critical and elaborate signal for mate attraction. In many species female listeners respond to male song both behaviorally and physiologically (e.g. copulation solicitation displays and production of the immediate early gene ZENK in auditory regions). It is becoming increasingly well known that females in many species also sing. However, in common lab species, such as canaries (Serinus canaria), female song is limited and has been primarily studied in the context of administering of exogenous testosterone (T) to increase song rate and length. In this study we addressed to what extent female canary songs are masculinized by the administration of exogenous T based on the behavioral and physiological responses of avian receivers. Specifically, are T induced female songs sufficient to elicit courtship behaviors and auditory ZENK expression in female listeners? We found that female songs after 3 weeks of exogenous T were significantly longer and more complex than female songs after 12 weeks of exogenous T. Additionally, we found that playback of 3-week T song significantly increased sexual response behaviors and the expression of ZENK in the auditory brain regions of female listeners. Finally, we conclude that extended periods of T do not necessarily maintain the masculinization of female song.

Neural oscillations are locked to birdsong rhythms in canaries.

How vocal communication signals are represented in the cortex is a major challenge for behavioural neuroscience. Beyond a descriptive code, it is relevant to unveil the dynamical mechanism responsible for the neural representation of auditory stimuli. In this work, we report evidence of synchronous neural activity in nucleus HVC, a telencephalic area of canaries (Serinus canaria), in response to auditory playback of the bird's own song. The rhythmic features of canary song allowed us to show that this large-scale synchronization was locked to defined features of the behaviour. We recorded neural activity in a brain region where sensorimotor integration occurs, showing the presence of well-defined oscillations in the local field potentials, which are locked to song rhythm. We also show a correspondence between local field potentials, multiunit activity and single unit activity within the same brain region. Overall, our results show that the rhythmic features of the vocal behaviour are represented in a telencephalic region of canaries.

Seasonal regulation of singing-driven gene expression associated with song plasticity in the canary, an open-ended vocal learner.

Songbirds are one of the few animal taxa that possess vocal learning abilities. Different species of songbirds exhibit species-specific learning programs during song acquisition. Songbirds with open-ended vocal learning capacity, such as the canary, modify their songs during adulthood. Nevertheless, the neural molecular mechanisms underlying open-ended vocal learning are not fully understood. We investigated the singing-driven expression of neural activity-dependent genes (Arc, Egr1, c-fos, Nr4a1, Sik1, Dusp6, and Gadd45ß) in the canary to examine a potential relationship between the gene expression level and the degree of seasonal vocal plasticity at different ages. The expression of these genes was differently regulated throughout the critical period of vocal learning in the zebra finch, a closed-ended song learner. In the canary, the neural activity-dependent genes were induced by singing in the song nuclei throughout the year. However, in the vocal motor nucleus, the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA), all genes were regulated with a higher induction rate by singing in the fall than in the spring. The singing-driven expression of these genes showed a similar induction rate in the fall between the first year juvenile and the second year adult canaries, suggesting a seasonal, not age-dependent, regulation of the neural activity-dependent genes. By measuring seasonal vocal plasticity and singing-driven gene expression, we found that in RA, the induction intensity of the neural activity-dependent genes was correlated with the state of vocal plasticity. These results demonstrate a correlation between vocal plasticity and the singing-driven expression of neural activity-dependent genes in RA through song development, regardless of whether a songbird species possesses an open- or closed-ended vocal learning capacity.

Perineuronal nets in HVC and plasticity in male canary song.

Songbirds learn their vocalizations during developmental sensitive periods of song memorization and sensorimotor learning. Some seasonal songbirds, called open-ended learners, recapitulate transitions from sensorimotor learning and song crystallization on a seasonal basis during adulthood. In adult male canaries, sensorimotor learning occurs each year in autumn and leads to modifications of the syllable repertoire during successive breeding seasons. We previously showed that perineuronal nets (PNN) expression in song control nuclei decreases during this sensorimotor learning period. Here we explored the causal link between PNN expression in adult canaries and song modification by enzymatically degrading PNN in HVC, a key song control system nucleus. Three independent experiments identified limited effects of the PNN degradation in HVC on the song structure of male canaries. They clearly establish that presence of PNN in HVC is not required to maintain general features of crystallized song. Some suggestion was collected that PNN are implicated in the stability of song repertoires but this evidence is too preliminary to draw firm conclusions and additional investigations should consider producing PNN degradations at specified time points of the seasonal cycle. It also remains possible that once song has been crystallized at the beginning of the first breeding season, PNN no longer play a key role in determining song structure; this could be tested by treatments with chondroitinase ABC at key steps in ontogeny. It would in this context be important to develop multiple stereotaxic procedures allowing the simultaneous bilateral degradation of PNN in several song control nuclei for extended periods.

Sex-and Region-Dependent Expression of the Autism-Linked ADNP Correlates with Social- and Speech-Related Genes in the Canary Brain.

The activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) syndrome is an autistic-like disorder, instigated by mutations in ADNP. This syndrome is characterized by developmental delays, impairments in speech, motor function, abnormal hearing, and intellectual disabilities. In the Adnp-haploinsufficient mouse model, many of these impediments are evident, appearing in a sex-dependent manner. In zebra finch songbird (ZF; Taeniopygia guttata), an animal model used for song/language studies, ADNP mRNA most robust expression is observed in the cerebrum of young males, potentially corroborating with male ZF exclusive singing behavior and developed cerebral song system. Herein, we report a similar sex-dependent ADNP expression profile, with the highest expression in the cerebrum (qRT-PCR) in the brain of another songbird, the domesticated canary (Serinus canaria domestica). Additional analyses for the mRNA transcripts of the ADNP regulator, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), sister gene ADNP2, and speech-related Forkhead box protein P2 (FoxP2) revealed multiple sex and brain region-dependent positive correlations between the genes (including ADNP). Parallel transcript expression patterns for FoxP2 and VIP were observed alongside specific FoxP2 increase in males compared with females as well as VIP/ADNP2 correlations. In spatial view, a sexually independent extensive form of expression was found for ADNP in the canary cerebrum (RNA in situ hybridization). The songbird cerebral mesopallium area stood out as a potentially high-expressing ADNP tissue, further strengthening the association of ADNP with sense integration and auditory memory formation, previously implicated in mouse and human.

A genetic mechanism for sexual dichromatism in birds.

Sexual dichromatism, a difference in coloration between males and females, may be due to sexual selection for ornamentation and mate choice. Here, we show that carotenoid-based dichromatism in mosaic canaries, a hybrid phenotype that arises in offspring of the sexually dichromatic red siskin and monochromatic canaries, is controlled by the gene that encodes the carotenoid-cleaving enzyme ß-carotene oxygenase 2 (BCO2). Dichromatism in mosaic canaries is explained by differential carotenoid degradation in the integument, rather than sex-specific variation in physiological functions such as pigment uptake or transport. Transcriptome analyses suggest that carotenoid degradation in the integument might be a common mechanism contributing to sexual dichromatism across finches. These results suggest that differences in ornamental coloration between sexes can evolve through simple molecular mechanisms controlled by genes of major effect.

Hidden neural states underlie canary song syntax.

Coordinated skills such as speech or dance involve sequences of actions that follow syntactic rules in which transitions between elements depend on the identities and order of past actions. Canary songs consist of repeated syllables called phrases, and the ordering of these phrases follows long-range rules1 in which the choice of what to sing depends on the song structure many seconds prior. The neural substrates that support these long-range correlations are unknown. Here, using miniature head-mounted microscopes and cell-type-specific genetic tools, we observed neural activity in the premotor nucleus HVC2-4 as canaries explored various phrase sequences in their repertoire. We identified neurons that encode past transitions, extending over four phrases and spanning up to four seconds and forty syllables. These neurons preferentially encode past actions rather than future actions, can reflect more than one song history, and are active mostly during the rare phrases that involve history-dependent transitions in song. These findings demonstrate that the dynamics of HVC include 'hidden states' that are not reflected in ongoing behaviour but rather carry information about prior actions. These states provide a possible substrate for the control of syntax transitions governed by long-range rules.

Statistical learning of transition patterns in the songbird auditory forebrain.

Statistical learning of transition patterns between sounds-a striking capability of the auditory system-plays an essential role in animals' survival (e.g., detect deviant sounds that signal danger). However, the neural mechanisms underlying this capability are still not fully understood. We recorded extracellular multi-unit and single-unit activity in the auditory forebrain of awake male zebra finches while presenting rare repetitions of a single sound in a long sequence of sounds (canary and zebra finch song syllables) patterned in either an alternating or random order at different inter-stimulus intervals (ISI). When preceding stimuli were regularly alternating (alternating condition), a repeated stimulus violated the preceding transition pattern and was a deviant. When preceding stimuli were in random order (control condition), a repeated stimulus did not violate any regularities and was not a deviant. At all ISIs tested (1 s, 3 s, or jittered at 0.8-1.2 s), deviant repetition enhanced neural responses in the alternating condition in a secondary auditory area (caudomedial nidopallium, NCM) but not in the primary auditory area (Field L2); in contrast, repetition suppressed responses in the control condition in both Field L2 and NCM. When stimuli were presented in the classical oddball paradigm at jittered ISI (0.8-1.2 s), neural responses in both NCM and Field L2 were stronger when a stimulus occurred as deviant with low probability than when the same stimulus occurred as standard with high probability. Together, these results demonstrate: (1) classical oddball effect exists even when ISI is jittered and the onset of a stimulus is not fully predictable; (2) neurons in NCM can learn transition patterns between sounds at multiple ISIs and detect violation of these transition patterns; (3) sensitivity to deviant sounds increases from Field L2 to NCM in the songbird auditory forebrain. Further studies using the current paradigms may help us understand the neural substrate of statistical learning and even speech comprehension.

Testosterone stimulates perineuronal nets development around parvalbumin cells in the adult canary brain in parallel with song crystallization.

Perineuronal nets (PNN) of the extracellular matrix are dense aggregations of chondroitin-sulfate proteoglycans that usually surround fast-spiking parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory interneurons (PV). The development of PNN around PV appears specifically at the end of sensitive periods of visual learning and limits the synaptic plasticity in the visual cortex of mammals. Seasonal songbirds display a high level of adult neuroplasticity associated with vocal learning, which is regulated by fluctuations of circulating testosterone concentrations. Seasonal changes in testosterone concentrations and in neuroplasticity are associated with vocal changes between the non-breeding and breeding seasons. Increases in blood testosterone concentrations in the spring lead to the annual crystallization of song so that song becomes more stereotyped. Here we explore whether testosterone also regulates PNN expression in the song control system of male and female canaries. We show that, in both males and females, testosterone increases the number of PNN and of PV neurons in the three main telencephalic song control nuclei HVC, RA (nucleus robustus arcopallialis) and Area X and increases the PNN localization around PV interneurons. Singing activity was recorded in males and quantitative analyses demonstrated that testosterone also increased male singing rate, song duration and song energy while decreasing song entropy. Together, these data suggest that the development of PNN could provide the synaptic stability required to maintain the stability of the testosterone-induced crystallized song. This provides the new evidence for a role of PNN in the regulation of adult seasonal plasticity in seasonal songbirds.

Seasonal changes of perineuronal nets and song learning in adult canaries (Serinus canaria).

Songbirds learn their song during a sensitive period of development associated with enhanced neural plasticity. In addition, in open-ended learners such as canaries, a sensitive period for sensorimotor vocal learning reopens each year in the fall and leads to song modifications between successive breeding seasons. The variability observed in song production across seasons in adult canaries correlates with seasonal fluctuations of testosterone concentrations and with morphological changes in nuclei of the song control system (SCS). The sensitive periods for song learning during ontogeny and then again in adulthood could be controlled by the development of perineuronal nets (PNN) around parvalbumin-expressing interneurones (PV) which limits learning-induced neuroplasticity. However, this relationship has never been investigated in the context of adult vocal learning in adult songbirds. Here we explored PNN and PV expression in the SCS of adult male Fife Fancy canaries in relation to the seasonal variations of their singing behaviour. We found a clear pattern of seasonal variation in testosterone concentrations and song production. Furthermore, PNN expression was significantly higher in two specific song control nuclei, the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) and the Area X of the basal ganglia, during the breeding season and during the later stages of sensorimotor song development compared to birds in an earlier stage of sensorimotor development during the fall. These data provide the first evidence that changes in PNN expression could represent a mechanism regulating the closing-reopening of sensitive periods for vocal learning across seasons in adult songbirds.

Characteristics of song, brain-anatomy and blood androgen levels in spontaneously singing female canaries.

Females of many northern temperate songbird species sing sporadically. However, detailed descriptions of female song are rare. Here we report a detailed analysis of song in a small number of spontaneously-singing female domesticated canaries (Serinus canaria) under non-breeding, laboratory conditions in a large population of domesticated birds. In-depth analysis showed that these females sang rarely, and the spontaneous songs varied between and within birds over time. Furthermore, spontaneous female songs were distinct from songs of testosterone-induced singing female canaries and from songs of male canaries in both temporal and spectral features. Singing females had significantly elevated plasma androgen levels and a larger size of the major song controlling brain nuclei HVC (used as a proper name) and the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) than non-singing females housed under similar conditions. The sporadically observed production of song and accompanying differences in brain anatomy in female canaries may thus depend on minute intraspecific differences in androgen levels.

Intraspecific variation in testosterone-induced neuroplasticity in two canary strains.

Temperate zone songbird species, such as the canary (Serinus canaria), can serve as model systems to investigate adult seasonal plasticity in brain and behavior. An increase in day length, experienced by canaries in the early spring stimulates gonadal recrudescence and an associated increase in circulating testosterone concentrations. This increase in plasma testosterone results in marked morphological changes in well-defined neural circuitry regulating reproductive behaviors including birdsong as well as behavioral changes such as increases in song length and complexity. An obvious measure of plasticity in neural morphology can be assessed via changes in brain nuclei volume and testosterone actions on a number of cellular features including the integration and incorporation of new neurons in the adult canary brain. Previous work in our lab suggests that there may be systematic intraspecific variability within canaries in testosterone-induced adult neuroplasticity. For example, the song nucleus HVC increases in size in response to testosterone in male canaries but we found that males of the American Singer strain exhibited minimal and variable responses as compared to other canary strains such as the Border canary strain, which is thought to be closer to wild type canaries. In this study, we systematically compared the effects of testosterone on the volume of song nuclei and the number of new neurons as assessed with the neurogenesis marker doublecortin in American Singer and Border canaries. We found more pronounced testosterone-induced neuroplasticity in the Border strain than the American Singer. These data suggest that the process of selection for certain strain phenotypes is also associated with significant changes in hormone-regulated brain plasticity.

Testing the resource trade-off hypothesis for carotenoid-based signal honesty using genetic variants of the domestic canary.

Carotenoid-based coloration in birds is widely considered an honest signal of individual condition, but the mechanisms responsible for condition dependency in such ornaments remain debated. Currently, the most common explanation for how carotenoid coloration serves as a reliable signal of condition is the resource trade-off hypothesis, which proposes that use of carotenoids for ornaments reduces their availability for use by the immune system or for protection from oxidative damage. However, two main assumptions of the hypothesis remain in question: whether carotenoids boost the performance of internal processes such as immune and antioxidant defenses, and whether allocating carotenoids to ornaments imposes a trade-off with such benefits. In this study, we tested these two fundamental assumptions using types of domestic canary (Serinus canaria domestica) that enable experiments in which carotenoid availability and allocation can be tightly controlled. Specifically, we assessed metrics of immune and antioxidant performance in three genetic variants of the color-bred canary that differ only in carotenoid phenotype: ornamented, carotenoid-rich yellow canaries; unornamented, carotenoid-rich 'white dominant' canaries; and unornamented, carotenoid-deficient 'white recessive' canaries. The resource trade-off hypothesis predicts that carotenoid-rich individuals should outperform carotenoid-deficient individuals and that birds that allocate carotenoids to feathers should pay a cost in the form of reduced immune function or greater oxidative stress compared with unornamented birds. We found no evidence to support either prediction; all three canary types performed equally across measures. We suggest that testing alternative mechanisms for the honesty of carotenoid-based coloration should be a key focus of future studies of carotenoid-based signaling in birds.

How canaries listen to their song: Species-specific shape of auditory perception.

The melodic, rolling songs of canaries have entertained humans for centuries and have been studied for decades by researchers interested in vocal learning, but relatively little is known about how the birds listen to their songs. Here, it is investigated how discriminable the general acoustic features of conspecific songs are to canaries, and their discrimination abilities are compared with a small parrot species, the budgerigar. Past experiments have shown that female canaries are more sexually responsive to a particular song element-the "special" syllables-and consistent with those observations, it was found that special syllables are perceptually distinctive for canaries. It is also shown that canaries discriminate the subtle differences among syllables and phrases using spectral, envelope, and temporal fine structure cues. Yet, while canaries can hear these fine details of the acoustic structure of their song, the evidence overall suggests that they listen at a more global, phrase by phrase level, rather than an analytic, syllable by syllable level, except when attending to some features of special syllables. These results depict the species-specific shape of auditory perception in canaries and lay the groundwork for future studies examining how song perception changes seasonally and according to hormonal state.