The study of vocal production learning in birds is heavily biased towards oscine songbirds, making the songbird model the reference for comparative studies. However, as vocal learning was probably ancestral in songbirds, interspecific variations might all be variations on a single theme and need not be representative of the nature and characteristics of vocal learning in other bird groups. To assess the possible mechanisms of vocal learning and its evolution therefore requires knowledge about independently evolved incidences of vocal learning. This review examines the presence and nature of vocal production learning in non-songbirds. Using a broad definition of vocal learning and a comparative phylogenetic framework, I evaluate the evidence for vocal learning and its characteristics in non-oscine birds, including well-known vocal learners such as parrots and hummingbirds but also (putative) cases from other taxa. Despite the sometimes limited evidence, it is clear that vocal learning occurs in a range of different, non-related, taxa and can be caused by a variety of mechanisms. It is more widespread than often realized, calling for more systematic studies. Examining this variation may provide a window onto the evolution of vocal learning and increase the value of comparative research for understanding vocal learning in humans.

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

鸟类发声学习的研究严重偏向于鸟类鸣禽，使鸣禽模型成为比较研究的参考。然而，由于声乐学习可能是鸣禽的祖先，种间变异可能都是单一主题的变异，不需要代表其他鸟类群体声乐学习的性质和特征。因此，为了评估声乐学习的可能机制及其演变，需要了解声乐学习的独立演变发生率。这篇综述考察了非鸣禽中发声学习的存在和性质。使用声音学习的广泛定义和比较系统发育框架，我评估了非鸟类鸟类的声音学习及其特征的证据，包括著名的声乐学习者，如鹦鹉和蜂鸟，也包括来自其他分类群的（假定）案例。尽管有时证据有限，但很明显，声音学习发生在一系列不同的、不相关的分类群中，并且可能由多种机制引起。它比通常意识到的更广泛，需要更系统的研究。检查这种变化可能为了解声乐学习的演变提供一个窗口，并增加比较研究对理解人类声乐学习的价值。

这篇文章是主题问题“动物和人类的声音学习”的一部分。