The Rufous Hornero (Furnarius rufus), a highly abundant suboscine and Argentina’s national
bird, has a song long considered innate, but it displays a higher degree of complexity than
typically observed in this clade. Here, we examined the acoustic properties of Hornero songs to
test whether syllables carry individual signatures. Using quantitative acoustic analyses and
machine learning, we trained Siamese Neural Networks on spectrotemporal representations of
the fundamental frequency to classify individuals. Our results show that female horneros
produce identifiable acoustic signatures, whereas male songs lack sufficient distinctiveness for
reliable classification. Detailed spectrographic analyses of female syllables, combined with
biomechanical modeling of the sound source, suggest fine motor control as the basis of these
individual acoustic fingerprints. These findings highlight the importance of studying vocal
production and neuromuscular control in suboscines, particularly the role of individuality in song.