Influence of behavioural contingency on developmental song learning in young zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) tutored by a robot bird

In humans and other animals, social robots can serve as effective tutors for learning new skills. Young oscines learn their song by imitating conspecific adults. In a previous study, we demonstrated that a robotic bird can be as effective as a live tutor in training a young zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) to imitate a song model. Here, we take this further by investigating the role of behavioural contingency in developmental song learning and in shaping the birds’ engagement with the robot. Two groups of young male finches were exposed to a robotic tutor under contingent (CON) or non-contingent (NCON) conditions. In the CON group, the robot produced a call in response to a call emitted by the bird. When the bird perched nearby, the robot oriented towards it and broadcast a song. While song imitation was slightly better in the CON group, the difference was not statistically significant. However, birds in the CON group spent more time near the robot and interacted with it more frequently compared to NCON-birds. These findings highlight the importance of behavioural contingency in social robotics and offer novel insights into the use of robotic agents in studies with non-human animals.

The royal Society 
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2834