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Experimental evidence for core-Merge in the vocal communication system of a wild passerine

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  • Toshitaka N. Suzuki

    (Kyoto University
    Kyoto University)

  • Yui K. Matsumoto

    (Kyoto University
    National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry)

Abstract

One of the cognitive capacities underlying language is core-Merge, which allows senders to combine two words into a sequence and receivers to recognize it as a single unit. Recent field studies suggest intriguing parallels in non-human animals, e.g., Japanese tits (Parus minor) combine two meaning-bearing calls into a sequence when prompting antipredator displays in other individuals. However, whether such examples represent core-Merge remains unclear; receivers may perceive a two-call sequence as two individual calls that are arbitrarily produced in close time proximity, not as a single unit. If an animal species has evolved core-Merge, its receivers should treat a two-call sequence produced by a single individual differently from the same two calls produced by two individuals with the same timing. Here, we show that Japanese tit receivers exhibit antipredator displays when perceiving two-call sequences broadcast from a single source, but not from two sources, providing evidence for core-Merge in animals.

Suggested Citation

  • Toshitaka N. Suzuki & Yui K. Matsumoto, 2022. "Experimental evidence for core-Merge in the vocal communication system of a wild passerine," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-33360-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33360-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Toshitaka N. Suzuki & David Wheatcroft & Michael Griesser, 2016. "Experimental evidence for compositional syntax in bird calls," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-7, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pratyusha Sharma & Shane Gero & Roger Payne & David F. Gruber & Daniela Rus & Antonio Torralba & Jacob Andreas, 2024. "Contextual and combinatorial structure in sperm whale vocalisations," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.

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