Socially guided vocal learning, the ability to use contingent reactions from social partners to guide immature vocalizations to more mature forms, is thought to be a rare ability known to be used only by humans, marmosets and two unrelated songbird species (brown-headed cowbirds and zebra finches). However, this learning strategy has never been investigated in the vast majority of species that are known to modify their vocalizations over development. We propose a novel, preliminary evolutionary modelling approach that uses ecological, reproductive and developmental traits to predict which species may incorporate social influences as part of their vocal learning system. We demonstrate our model using data from 28 passerines. We found three highly predictive traits: temporal overlap between sensory (memorization) and sensorimotor (practice) phases of song learning, song used for mate attraction, and social gregariousness outside the breeding season. Species with these traits were distributed throughout the clade, suggesting that a trait-based approach may yield new insights into the evolution of learning strategies that cannot be gleaned from phylogenetic relatedness alone. Our model suggests several previously uninvestigated and unexpected species as likely socially guided vocal learners and offers new insight into the evolution and development of vocal learning.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

社会引导的声音学习，即利用社会伙伴的偶然反应将不成熟的声音引导到更成熟的形式的能力，被认为是一种罕见的能力，已知只有人类、狨猴和两种不相关的鸣禽物种（棕头牛鸟和斑马雀）。然而，这种学习策略从未在绝大多数已知会在发育过程中改变其发声的物种中进行过研究。我们提出了一种新颖的初步进化建模方法，该方法使用生态、生殖和发育特征来预测哪些物种可能将社会影响纳入其声乐学习系统的一部分。我们使用来自 28 只雀形目动物的数据来展示我们的模型。我们发现了三个高度预测性特征：歌曲学习的感觉（记忆）和感觉运动（练习）阶段之间的时间重叠，用于吸引配偶的歌曲以及繁殖季节之外的社交。具有这些特征的物种分布在整个进化枝中，这表明基于特征的方法可能会对学习策略的进化产生新的见解，而这些见解不能仅从系统发育相关性中收集。我们的模型建议几个以前未研究和意想不到的物种可能是社会引导的声乐学习者，并为声乐学习的演变和发展提供了新的见解。表明基于特征的方法可能会对学习策略的演变产生新的见解，而这些见解不能仅从系统发育相关性中收集。我们的模型建议几个以前未研究和意想不到的物种可能是社会引导的声乐学习者，并为声乐学习的演变和发展提供了新的见解。表明基于特征的方法可能会对学习策略的演变产生新的见解，而这些见解不能仅从系统发育相关性中收集。我们的模型建议几个以前未研究和意想不到的物种可能是社会引导的声乐学习者，并为声乐学习的演变和发展提供了新的见解。

这篇文章是主题问题“动物和人类的声乐学习”的一部分。