Behaviourally driven gene expression reveals song nuclei in hummingbird brain

Erich D. Jarvis, Sidarta Ribeiro, Maria Luisa da Silva, Dora Ventura, Jacques Vielliard and Claudio V. Mello ()
Additional contact information
Erich D. Jarvis: Duke University Medical Center, Box 3209
Sidarta Ribeiro: Laboratory of Animal Behavior, The Rockefeller University
Maria Luisa da Silva: PG Neurociências e Comportamento, USP
Dora Ventura: Depto. de Psicologia Experimental, USP
Jacques Vielliard: Depto. de Zoologia, UNICAMP
Claudio V. Mello: Laboratory of Animal Behavior, The Rockefeller University

Nature, 2000, vol. 406, issue 6796, 628-632

Abstract: Abstract Hummingbirds have developed a wealth of intriguing features, such as backwards flight, ultraviolet vision, extremely high metabolic rates, nocturnal hibernation, high brain-to-body size ratio and a remarkable species–specific diversity of vocalizations1,2,3,4. Like humans, they have also developed the rare trait of vocal learning, this being the ability to acquire vocalizations through imitation rather than instinct5,6. Here we show, using behaviourally driven gene expression in freely ranging tropical animals, that the forebrain of hummingbirds contains seven discrete structures that are active during singing, providing the first anatomical and functional demonstration of vocal nuclei in hummingbirds. These structures are strikingly similar to seven forebrain regions that are involved in vocal learning and production in songbirds and parrots7,8,9,10,11,12,13—the only other avian orders known to be vocal learners5. This similarity is surprising, as songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds are thought to have evolved vocal learning and associated brain structures independently5,14, and it indicates that strong constraints may influence the evolution of forebrain vocal nuclei.

Date: 2000
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/35020570 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:406:y:2000:i:6796:d:10.1038_35020570

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/35020570

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().