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.

中文翻译：

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自发唱歌的女性金丝雀的歌曲，大脑解剖结构和血液雄激素水平的特征。

许多北方温带鸣禽物种的雌性偶尔唱歌。但是，很少有关于女性歌曲的详细描述。在这里，我们报告了在大量繁殖的鸟类中，在非繁殖的实验室条件下，少数自发唱歌的雌性驯养的金丝雀（Serinus canaria）中歌曲的详细分析。深入分析表明，这些雌性动物很少唱歌，随着时间的推移，鸟类之间和鸟类内部的自发歌曲会有所不同。此外，自发性女性歌曲在时间和频谱特征上与睾丸激素诱导的女性金丝雀的歌曲和男性金丝雀的歌曲截然不同。与在类似条件下居住的非唱歌雌性相比，唱歌的雌性血浆雄激素水平显着升高，控制主歌核HVC（用作专有名称）和强健的op骨核（RA）的主要歌曲更大。因此，偶发性观察到的雌性金丝雀的歌声产生和随之而来的大脑解剖结构差异可能取决于雄激素水平的种内差异。