Male zebra finches growing up without mothers prefer to bond with each other in adulthood, a new study shows, and sexual imprinting may explain why.

The male zebra finch has black "mustache" markings, which are thin black lines running along both sides of their beak. The area between the mustache and tear-drop markings is usually white.

A male zebra finch chick hatches from its egg. Around 3-4 weeks later, it begins to make its first croaking sounds – these do not have much in common with its later song.

To a human ear the songs of all male zebra finches sound more or less the same. But faced with a chorus of this simple song, female finches can pick the performer who sings most beautifully.

Male zebra finches do seem to be practicing when they sing alone or outside of clearly relevant social contexts, says Rockefeller University neuroscientist Constantina Theofanopoulou, whose work ...

During this time, they practice their song motor skills and actively try to produce song. Although they begin to shift their attention away from their fathers and show a preference for hearing songs ...

Young male zebra finches learn to sing by listening to an adult male tutor that they choose to pay close attention to, normally their biological father or a “foster” father who nurtures them. This ...

Griffith says that the study was an international collaboration led by Hugo Loning from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Studies on the development of the brain and genetics have focused on ...

For zebra finches, it may be the male’s constant song is enough to keep the pair well bonded. Australia is rightly famous for its birds, from raucous cockatoos to melodious songbirds.