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Journal articles on the topic 'Male breeding songs'
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1
Labra, Antonieta, and Helene M. Lampe. "The songs of male pied flycatchers: exploring the legacy of the fathers." PeerJ 6 (August 1, 2018): e5397. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5397.
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Singing is a key element of songbirds’ behavioral repertoire, particularly for males, which sing during the breeding season to defend resources against other males and to attract females. Different song traits may convey honest information about males’ qualities or conditions, which may be used by females to select their mates. Traits under strong sexual selection have an important component of additive genetic variation (i.e., the main genetic inheritance from parents), and so relatively high heritability; therefore, it can be expected that song traits also do. Although the act of singing is an innate behavior, and thus, genetically determined, songbirds need to learn their songs and therefore the genetic contribution to song traits may be reduced by the effect of environmental factors. We tested this hypothesis in seven song traits recorded in the long-distance migratory bird, the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). From a 23-year database (1992–2015), we obtained songs for 28 father–son pairs, and for each song trait we applied parent–offspring regressions to estimate heritability. The type of syllables sung are learned from tutors, and here we also determined the cultural contribution of fathers to the song repertoires of their sons, by quantifying the percentage of syllables that sons shared with their fathers, and compared this with what sons shared with other males in the population (e.g., neighbors). The heritabilities of song traits were highly variable (ranging from −0.22 to 0.56), but most of these were around zero and none of them were significant. These results indicate that the seven song traits are most likely determined by environmental factors. Sons shared more syllables with their fathers than with neighbors (21% vs. 3%), suggesting that fathers are important song tutors during the nestling period. We conclude that there is a cultural inheritance from fathers to their sons’ syllable repertoires, but there is no strong evidence for a genetic contribution of fathers to the seven song traits studied.
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Nelson, Douglas, Hitesh Khanna, and Peter Marler. "LEARNING BY INSTRUCTION OR SELECTION: IMPLICATIONS FOR PATTERNS OF GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN BIRD SONG." Behaviour 138, no. 9 (2001): 1137–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853901753287172.
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AbstractExperience can have both instructive and selective effects on vocal development in song birds. Learning by instruction occurs when one male imitates the song of another. Learning by selection occurs when a male chooses one or more songs to retain in his repertoire based on interaction with other individuals. These models of learning make different predictions about the degree of microgeographic variation in song present in wild populations of birds. If males are instructed by their immediate territory neighbors, then the songs of territory neighbors should be more similar than are the songs of non-neighbors. In contrast, if males select a song for retention that was learned elsewhere in the dialect, the songs of neighbors should be no more similar than are the songs of non-neighbors sampled from the same dialect. We compared the songs of males sampled in two sedentary populations and four migratory populations of four subspecies of the white-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys. In the two sedentary nuttalli populations, males on neighboring territories sang very similar songs, indicating that males are instructed by their territory neighbors after they disperse short distances to their breeding territories. Learning by selection during territory establishment after natal dispersal appears to predominate in the four migratory populations: the songs of territory neighbors were no more similar than were the songs of non-neighbors. We conclude that the sedentary/migratory distinction in the annual cycle determines the form of vocal learning that occurs between territory neighbors.
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Grabarczyk, Erin E., and Sharon A. Gill. "A female perspective: testing the effects of noise masking on signal transmission patterns inside the nest box." Behaviour 157, no. 1 (November 26, 2019): 59–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-00003581.
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Abstract During the breeding season, avian pairs coordinate interactions with songs and calls. For cavity nesting birds, females inside nest boxes may rely on male vocalizations for information. Anthropogenic noise masks male songs, which could affect information gained by females. We explored song transmission from a female house wren (Troglodytes aedon) perspective, testing the hypothesis that noise masking alters songs that reach females inside nest boxes. We broadcast songs at three distances up to 25 m from nest boxes and re-recorded songs using two microphones, positioned inside and outside nest boxes. We measured signal-to-noise ratios and cross-correlation factors to estimate the effects of masking on transmission. In noise, songs received inside nest boxes had lower signal-to-noise ratios and cross-correlation factors than songs recorded outside of boxes, and these effects decreased with distance. For females, noise may reduce information conveyed through male songs and in response pairs may need to adjust their interactions.
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Kroodsma, Donald E., Rachel C. Bereson, Bruce E. Byers, and Edith Minear. "Use of song types by the Chestnut-sided Warbler: evidence for both intra- and inter-sexual functions." Canadian Journal of Zoology 67, no. 2 (February 1, 1989): 447–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z89-065.
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Males of many wood warbler (Parulinae) species use different song types in different contexts, yet the exact functions of the two main song type categories remain unclear. We studied the use of songs by both experimental (males whose mate had been removed from the territory) and control male Chestnut-sided Warblers (Dendroica pensylvanica) during the dawn hour and midmorning throughout the breeding season. Unpaired males sang more accented-ending songs and fewer unaccented-ending songs than paired males during all observation periods. Accented-ending songs appeared to be used primarily in the absence of intrasexual stimuli, and the percentage of unaccented-ending songs that was used during the nesting cycle appeared to fluctuate directly with the intensity of defense by the male of both his female and his territory. During courtship the male sang accented-ending songs on those infrequent occasions when he did sing in the immediate presence of his female, regardless of her location and the presence or absence of other males. These critical observations seem most consistent with the conclusion that the accented-ending songs are primarily intersexual. The unaccented- and accented-ending categories of song types appear to be used mainly as intra- and inter-sexual messages, respectively.
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Mennill, Daniel J., and Sandra L. Vehrencamp. "Sex Differences in Singing and Duetting Behavior of Neotropical Rufous-and-White Wrens (Thryothorus Rufalbus)." Auk 122, no. 1 (January 1, 2005): 175–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/auk/122.1.175.
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AbstractIn many tropical bird species, males and females sing together in coordinated vocal duets. Although studies of duetting present unique opportunities for understanding conflict and cooperation between the sexes, very few investigations describe the similarities and differences between male and female singing behaviors. Here, we present the first detailed account of the singing behavior of Rufous-and-white Wrens (Thryothorus rufalbus), a resident tropical duetting songbird. Male and female songs share a similar structure, yet show pronounced sex differences. Male songs have lower frequency characteristics and more repeated trill syllables, and often sound louder than female songs. Males sing more than females, and only males show elevated song output at dawn. Both males and females have song repertoires. Males have an average repertoire size of 10.8 song types, whereas females have a significantly smaller average repertoire size of 8.5 song types. Although males share proportionately more of their song types with neighbors than females do, both sexes share more song types with nearby individuals than with distant individuals. Breeding partners combine their solo songs to create duets. Duets assume a variety of different forms, ranging from simple, overlapping male and female songs to complex combinations of multiple male and female songs. Most duets (73%) are created by females responding to male song. Males respond to female-initiated duets with shorter latencies than when females respond to male-initiated duets. Each pair sings certain combinations of song types in duets more often than can be explained by random association, which demonstrates that Rufous-and-white Wrens have duet types. The most common duet type was different for each pair. Our results show that Rufous-and-white Wrens have pronounced sex differences in song structure, singing activity, repertoire size, repertoire sharing, and duetting behavior.Diferencias entre Sexos en el Canto y Comportamiento de Dueto en Thryothorus rufalbus
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Morton, Eugene S., and Bridget J. M. Stutchbury. "Vocal Communication in Androgynous Territorial Defense by Migratory Birds." ISRN Zoology 2012 (March 1, 2012): 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.5402/2012/729307.
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Many temperate zone breeding birds spend their non-breeding period in the tropics where they defend individual territories. Unlike tropical birds that use song for breeding and non-breeding territorial defense, vocal defense differs strikingly between breeding and non-breeding territories in migrants. Song, restricted to males, is used during defense of breeding territories but callnotes are used to defend non-breeding territories. To explain why callnotes and not songs predominate in the non-breeding context, we present an empirical model based upon predictions from motivational/structural rules, ranging theory and latitudinal differences in extra-pair mating systems. Due to sex role divergence during breeding that favors singing in males, but not females, females may be unable to range male song. Ranging requires a signal to be in both the sender and receiver’s repertoire to allow the distance between them to be assessed (ranged). Non-breeding territories of migrants are defended by both males and females as exclusive individual (androgynous) territories. Ranging Theory predicts callnotes, being shared by both males and females can, in turn, be ranged by both so are effective in androgynous territoriality. Where songs are used for non-breeding territorial defense both sexes sing, supporting the evolutionary significance of shared vocalizations in androgynous territorial defense.
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Sung, Ha-Cheol, and Paul Handford. "Song characters as reliable indicators of male reproductive quality in the Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)." Canadian Journal of Zoology 98, no. 1 (January 2020): 32–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2019-0018.
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Bird song may provide female birds with signals of male quality. To investigate this potential for sexual selection via female choice, we assessed the relationships between male song variation and male mating and reproductive success of the Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis (J.F. Gmelin, 1789)) over 3 years (2001–2003) in a population of Savannah Sparrows near London, Ontario, Canada. We measured song rate, as well as temporal and frequency attributes of song structure, as possible predictors of male quality, and then related these measures to attributes of male reproductive performance (mating and breeding success and territory size of males). We found significant correlations between male reproductive performance and several song features, such that the combined effects of two trill sections could potentially play an important role: males possessing such songs arrived and paired earlier and had higher fledging success. The results suggested that the trill segments of the song may signal important aspects of male quality. Possible reasons for significant roles of such songs in open-habitat birds are discussed.
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Grabarczyk, Erin E., Monique A. Pipkin, Maarten J. Vonhof, and Sharon A. Gill. "When to change your tune? Unpaired and paired male house wrens respond differently to anthropogenic noise." Journal of Ecoacoustics 2, no. 2 (September 3, 2018): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.22261/jea.lhgrvc.
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In response to anthropogenic noise, many bird species adjust their song frequency, presumably to optimize song transmission and overcome noise masking. But the costs of song adjustments may outweigh the benefits during different stages of breeding, depending on the locations of potential receivers. Selection might favor unpaired males to alter their songs because they sing to attract females that may be widely dispersed, whereas paired males might not if mates and neighbors are primary receivers of their song. We hypothesized male house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) respond differently to noise depending on their pairing status. To test our hypothesis we synthesized pink noise, which mimics anthropogenic noise, and played it at three intensities in territories of paired and unpaired focal males. We recorded their songs and analyzed whether song structure varied with pairing status and noise treatment. To validate our study design, we tested whether noise playback affected measurement of spectral song traits and changed noise levels within territories of focal males. Consistent with our predictions, unpaired males sang differently than paired males, giving longer songs at higher rates. Contrary to predictions, paired males changed their songs by increasing peak frequency during high intensity noise playback, whereas unpaired males did not. If adjusting song frequency in noise is beneficial for long-distance communication we would have expected unpaired males to change their songs in response to noise. By adjusting song frequency, paired males reduce masking and produce a song that is easier to hear. However, if females prefer low frequency song, then unpaired males may be constrained by female preference. Alternatively, if noise adjustments are learned and vary with experience or quality, unpaired males in our study population may be younger, less experienced, or lower quality males.
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Greig, Emma I., Benjamin N. Taft, and Stephen Pruett-Jones. "Sons learn songs from their social fathers in a cooperatively breeding bird." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279, no. 1741 (May 16, 2012): 3154–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.2582.
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Song learning is hypothesized to allow social adaptation to a local song neighbourhood. Maintaining social associations is particularly important in cooperative breeders, yet vocal learning in such species has only been assessed in systems where social association was correlated with relatedness. Thus, benefits of vocal learning as a means of maintaining social associations could not be disentangled from benefits of kin recognition. We assessed genetic and cultural contributions to song in a species where social association was not strongly correlated with kinship: the cooperatively breeding, reproductively promiscuous splendid fairy-wren ( Malurus splendens ). We found that song characters of socially associated father–son pairs were more strongly correlated (and thus songs were more similar) than songs of father–son pairs with a genetic, but no social, association (i.e. cuckolding fathers). Song transmission was, therefore, vertical and cultural, with minimal signatures of kinship. Additionally, song characters were not correlated with several phenotypic indicators of male quality, supporting the idea that there may be a tradeoff between accurate copying of tutors and quality signalling via maximizing song performance, particularly when social and genetic relationships are decoupled. Our results lend support to the hypothesis that song learning facilitates the maintenance of social associations by permitting unrelated individuals to acquire similar signal phenotypes.
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Price, J. Jordan, Scott M. Lanyon, and Kevin E. Omland. "Losses of female song with changes from tropical to temperate breeding in the New World blackbirds." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 276, no. 1664 (March 4, 2009): 1971–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1626.
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Birds in which both sexes produce complex songs are thought to be more common in the tropics than in temperate areas, where typically only males sing. Yet the role of phylogeny in this apparent relationship between female song and latitude has never been examined. Here, we reconstruct evolutionary changes in female song and breeding latitude in the New World blackbirds (Icteridae), a family with both temperate and tropical representatives. We provide strong evidence that members of this group have moved repeatedly from tropical to temperate breeding ranges and, furthermore, that these range shifts were associated with losses of female song more often than expected by chance. This historical perspective suggests that male-biased song production in many temperate species is the result not of sexual selection for complex song in males but of selection against such songs in females. Our results provide new insights into the differences we see today between tropical and temperate songbirds, and suggest that the role of sexual selection in the evolution of bird song might not be as simple as we think.
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Liu, Wan-Chun, and Donald E. Kroodsma. "Dawn and Daytime Singing Behavior of Chipping Sparrows (Spizella Passerina)." Auk 124, no. 1 (January 1, 2007): 44–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/auk/124.1.44.
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Abstract Songbirds typically have small-to-large repertoires of different song types used in complex patterns over a day or season, but what remains poorly understood are patterns of song use by songbirds that have a single, simple song. Here, on the basis of extensive field observations, we reveal how a male Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) varies its simple, repetitive song to create a dynamic singing performance. During the day, and beginning shortly after males arrive on their territories, males typically sing long songs at a relatively slow rate from the tops of trees near the center of their territories. About two weeks after males have arrived, they begin to sing well before sunrise; during this dawn chorus, songs are brief and delivered rapidly, typically while males face each other on the ground at territorial boundaries. Each male sings this way during the dawn chorus throughout the breeding season, except when his female is fertile. By contrast, daytime singing essentially stops after a male pairs. The dawn chorus appears to mediate social interactions among territorial neighbors, whereas daytime songs function in long-distance territory advertisement, particularly for female attraction. Comportamiento de Canto al Amanecer y Durante el Día en Spizella passerina
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Demko, Alana D., Leonard R. Reitsma, and Cynthia A. Staicer. "Repertoire structure, song sharing, reproductive success, and territory tenure in a population of Canada Warblers (Cardellina canadensis) in central New Hampshire." Canadian Journal of Zoology 94, no. 4 (April 2016): 283–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2015-0213.
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Sexual selection for larger repertoires and the social advantages of sharing songs with territorial neighbours are two forces that may drive the evolution of complex song repertoires in songbirds. To evaluate the influence of these two selective pressures on repertoire evolution in a species with a complex repertoire, we examined repertoire structure, song sharing, reproductive success, and territory tenure in a Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis (L., 1766)) population in New Hampshire. Over two breeding seasons, we recorded 63 singing males, classified their song repertoires, quantified male song sharing, and determined male reproductive success and territory tenure. Male Canada Warblers had complex repertoires averaging 12 phrases (particular sequences of song elements) and 55 variants (songs composed of particular sequences of phrases). Song sharing decreased significantly with distance between territories, all of which were <1.75 km apart. Network analysis revealed clusters of male neighbours with high variant sharing, which was significantly associated with longer territory tenure. Overall pairing and fledging success were high, but were not related to repertoire size or song sharing. Our results suggest that song sharing aids in male territory acquisition and defence, and that females may therefore select mates based on their ability to retain a high-quality territory.
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Mcloughlin, Michael, Luca Lamoni, Ellen C. Garland, Simon Ingram, Alexis Kirke, Michael J. Noad, Luke Rendell, and Eduardo Miranda. "Using agent-based models to understand the role of individuals in the song evolution of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)." Music & Science 1 (January 1, 2018): 205920431875702. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2059204318757021.
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Male humpback whales produce hierarchically structured songs, primarily during the breeding season. These songs gradually change over the course of the breeding season, and are generally population specific. However, instances have been recorded of more rapid song changes where the song of a population can be replaced by the song of an adjacent population. The mechanisms that drive these changes are not currently understood, and difficulties in tracking individual whales over long migratory routes mean field studies to understand these mechanisms are not feasible. In order to help understand the mechanisms that drive these song changes, we present here a spatially explicit agent-based model inspired by methods used in computer music research. We model the migratory patterns of humpback whales, a simple song learning and production method coupled with sound transmission loss, and how often singing occurs during these migratory cycles. This model is then extended to include learning biases that may be responsible for driving changes in the song, such as a bias towards novel song, production errors, and the coupling of novel song bias and production errors. While none of the methods showed population song replacement, our model shows that shared feeding grounds where conspecifics are able to mix provide key opportunities for cultural transmission, and that production errors facilitated gradually changing songs. Our results point towards other learning biases being necessary in order for population song replacement to occur.
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Pitocchelli, Jay. "Song discrimination by male Mourning Warblers (Geothlypis philadelphia) and implications for population divergence across the breeding range." Canadian Field-Naturalist 128, no. 4 (February 4, 2015): 408. http://dx.doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v128i4.1636.
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Geographic variation in song may reduce or eliminate the ability of some populations to recognize each other as conspecifics, possibly leading to assortative mating, reproductive isolation, and speciation. Song playback experiments, used to evaluate the significance of geographic variation in song, have been particularly useful in discovering divergence among previously unknown populations of sibling species. In this study, I report the results of song playback to male Mourning Warblers (Geothlypis philadelphia) from populations throughout the breeding range and discuss the implications for population divergence. Four regions in the breeding range contain unique song types or regiolects: western, eastern, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. Results of reciprocal song playback experiments showed that males from the western and Newfoundland regiolects respond more aggressively to songs in their own regiolect than those in the other regiolects. Interior populations, i.e., eastern and Nova Scotia regions, showed little or no difference in aggressive response toward their own versus other regiolects. This pattern may be due to a combination of geographic proximity of populations belonging to different regiolects, song learning, experience, and contact during migration. Song discrimination by populations from the western Prairie Provinces and Newfoundland is consistent with the existence of at least partial reproductive isolation at the geographic extremes of the breeding range.
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Nelson, Douglas A., Ben M. Nickley, Angelika Poesel, H. Lisle Gibbs, and John W. Olesik. "Inter-dialect dispersal is common in the Puget Sound white-crowned sparrow." Behaviour 154, no. 7-8 (2017): 809–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-00003445.
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Dispersal in birds can have an important influence on the genetic structure of populations by affecting gene flow. In birds that learn their songs, dispersal can affect the ability of male birds to share songs in song dialects and may influence mate attraction. We used Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) trace element analysis on the body feathers of birds to assess dispersal among four song dialects. We found that (1) most males had a feather element profile typical of only one dialect location; (2) males singing non-local (‘foreign’) dialects in a focal population often learned their foreign songs outside the dialect; and (3) females often dispersed among dialects. We estimated 5% dispersal per year by yearling males between the site of moulting and breeding. Our estimate is consistent with genetic estimates of widespread gene flow between dialects in this subspecies of the white-crowned sparrow.
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Leitner, Stefan, Johanna Teichel, Andries Ter Maat, and Cornelia Voigt. "Hatching late in the season requires flexibility in the timing of song learning." Biology Letters 11, no. 8 (August 2015): 20150522. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2015.0522.
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Most songbirds learn their songs from adult tutors, who can be their father or other male conspecifics. However, the variables that control song learning in a natural social context are largely unknown. We investigated whether the time of hatching of male domesticated canaries has an impact on their song development and on the neuroendocrine parameters of the song control system. Average age difference between early- and late-hatched males was 50 days with a maximum of 90 days. Song activity of adult tutor males decreased significantly during the breeding season. While early-hatched males were exposed to tutor songs for on average the first 99 days, late-hatched peers heard adult song only during the first 48 days of life. Remarkably, although hatching late in the season negatively affected body condition, no differences between both groups of males were found in song characteristics either in autumn or in the following spring. Similarly, hatching date had no effect on song nucleus size and circulating testosterone levels. Our data suggest that late-hatched males must have undergone accelerated song development. Furthermore, the limited tutor song exposure did not affect adult song organization and song performance.
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Liu, Wan-Chun, and Donald E. Kroodsma. "Song Learning by Chipping Sparrows: When, Where, and From Whom." Condor 108, no. 3 (August 1, 2006): 509–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/condor/108.3.509.
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Abstract Given the difficulty of following free-living, dispersing juvenile songbirds, relatively little is known about when, where, how, and from whom these young birds learn their songs. To explore these issues, we studied the Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina), males of which have a single, simple song, but populations of which may contain 20–30 different songs. In our western Massachusetts study sites, we color-banded 324 nestling and 32 fledgling sparrows. Twelve of these banded males returned to our study areas, dispersing a few hundred meters to 1.8 km away from their natal territories. The song of each yearling closely matched only one of his immediate neighbors on the breeding territory, revealing that a yearling sparrow precisely imitates one of his close neighbors after dispersal. Evidence from this field study and a previous laboratory study show that a young male is able to learn songs either during his hatching year or the following spring, perhaps depending on his chances of song exposure or social interaction with territorial neighbors.
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Helweg, David A., Nina Eriksen, Jakob Tougaard, and Lee A. Miller. "Cultural change in the songs of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from Tonga." Behaviour 142, no. 3 (2005): 305–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539053778283.
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Some humpback whales migrate annually from Antarctic feeding grounds to the seas around the Tongan Islands to give birth and mate. The Tongan humpbacks are considered part of Southern Hemisphere Group V that splits during migration, some swimming to Eastern Australia and others to various Polynesian Islands. During this time long complex songs are produced. The song is thought to be a male breeding display and may serve either as an intra-sexual or an inter-sexual signal or both. It is in a constant state of change that occurs every season. Since these changes are directional they cannot be described by drift, and singers incorporate changes as they occur, thus song must be shared through cultural transmission. This investigation describes the cultural changes that occurred in 158 songs recorded from Tongan humpbacks through the 1990s. The rate of change differed within years, some themes were retained for as much as five years and others were lost after only two years. The farther apart the years the less similar are the songs, as in the humpback songs of the Northern Hemisphere. The largest number of changes seems to have occurred in the early 1990s where all themes seemed to have been lost and new ones originated. What initiates these changes remains speculative, but we assess some hypotheses in relation to humpback whale behaviour and cultural transmission in avian song.
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Sakaluk, Scott, Geoffrey Owner, Colleen McGrath, Charles Collins, Jennifer Adams, Eric Bastien, Nathan Jarvis, et al. "Time of Eclosion and Mating Success of Male Sagebrush Crickets." UW National Parks Service Research Station Annual Reports 35 (January 1, 2012): 39–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.13001/uwnpsrc.2012.3923.
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Few studies have measured multivariate sexual selection acting on the sexual signals of male insects in wild populations. Sagebrush crickets are ideally suited to such investigations because mating imposes an unambiguous phenotypic marker on males arising from nuptial feeding by females. However, an important assumption underlying such studies is that males collected as virgins and those collected as non-virgins had equal opportunities to mate, an assumption that may be violated if males eclose (i.e. emerge following pupation) at different times of the breeding season. If mated males are those in the population that eclosed earlier and hence had a longer period to obtain matings than males in the virgin group, then differences in the songs of virgin and mated males could simply be an artifact of age-related changes in male morphology as opposed to a causal factor underlying variation in male mating success. Accordingly, we conducted a mark-recapture study to determine if there is an association between first appearance in the population and the likelihood of mating in free-living males. We captured all of the virgin males calling in the study population and marked them uniquely with a numbered tag. Subsequently, we tracked the mating success of 98 male subjects through the mid-point of the breeding season. There was no significant effect of date of capture (a proxy for time of eclosion) on time to mating. We conclude, therefore, that any differences in the songs of virgin and mated males stems from their effect on male mating success and not from any age-related effects.
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Draganoiu, Tudor I., Aurélien Moreau, Lucie Ravaux, Wim Bonckaert, and Nicolas Mathevon. "Song stability and neighbour recognition in a migratory songbird, the black redstart." Behaviour 151, no. 4 (2014): 435–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-00003129.
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Territorial male songbirds have the ability to discriminate between the songs of their neighbours and those of strangers and for a few species it has been shown that they maintain this ability from one breeding season to the next. To better understand the acoustic basis of this long-term discrimination ability we studied song stability across two breeding seasons in a migratory songbird with high inter-annual return rates and territory stability, the black redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros. Strophe repertoires of 14 males (≥2 years old) were stable from one breeding season to the next and high strophe sharing occurred for males within the same group of houses or hamlets (81%) in contrast to only limited sharing between different hamlets (15%). However, subtle differences exist between the renditions of the same strophe sung by neighbouring males and these differences equally show an inter-annual stability, providing an acoustic basis for long-term discrimination abilities. Playback tests showed the existence of a strong dear-enemy effect: males reacted less aggressively to the familiar, often shared song of a neighbour than to a stranger unshared song and this pattern was maintained when birds returned from migration one year later. We discuss on one side the possible mechanisms leading to the observed patterns of song sharing and on the other side the significance of stable vocal signatures for neighbour recognition.
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White, David, Andrew P.King, and Meredith West. "Plasticity in adult development: experience with young males enhances mating competence in adult male cowbirds, Molothrus ater." Behaviour 139, no. 6 (2002): 713–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853902320262781.
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AbstractThe social environment can play an important role in organizing organisms' behavioural development. We studied the effect on adult male cowbirds' communication and mating-related behaviour of being housed in social groups with juvenile males. In two large outdoor aviaries, we housed adult males, juvenile females and adult females either with or without juvenile males. Conditions remained intact from September 1999 through the first half of the breeding season in May 2000. We observed them throughout this time, documenting singing interactions, patterns of affiliation, and song production. We then brought the two groups of adult males together by rotating individuals from the groups into a mating competency tournament, allowing the males to compete with each other for mating opportunities with a new group of females. Throughout the study prior to the mating competency test, there were few differences among adult males in the two conditions as measured by amount and use of song, the quality of their songs, or number of copulations they received. In the mating competency tournament however, significant differences among males in the two conditions emerged. Compared with adult males that had been housed without juvenile males, adult males that had formerly been housed with juvenile males were more successful in the mating competition as measured by: success in getting copulations, number of copulations received, and latency to get copulations. They also engaged in more male-male singing interactions. These results provide evidence to suggest that development of mating competency is malleable throughout life in response to the social environment that individuals experience.
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Keenan, Emily L., Karan J. Odom, Marcelo Araya-Salas, Kyle G. Horton, Matthew Strimas-Mackey, Megan A. Meatte, Nigel I. Mann, Peter J. B. Slater, J. Jordan Price, and Christopher N. Templeton. "Breeding season length predicts duet coordination and consistency in Neotropical wrens (Troglodytidae)." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287, no. 1941 (December 16, 2020): 20202482. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2482.
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Many animals produce coordinated signals, but few are more striking than the elaborate male–female vocal duets produced by some tropical songbirds. Yet, little is known about the factors driving the extreme levels of vocal coordination between mated pairs in these taxa. We examined evolutionary patterns of duet coordination and their potential evolutionary drivers in Neotropical wrens (Troglodytidae), a songbird family well known for highly coordinated duets. Across 23 wren species, we show that the degree of coordination and precision with which pairs combine their songs into duets varies by species. This includes some species that alternate their song phrases with exceptional coordination to produce rapidly alternating duets that are highly consistent across renditions. These highly coordinated, consistent duets evolved independently in multiple wren species. Duet coordination and consistency are greatest in species with especially long breeding seasons, but neither duet coordination nor consistency are correlated with clutch size, conspecific abundance or vegetation density. These results suggest that tightly coordinated duets play an important role in mediating breeding behaviour, possibly by signalling commitment or coalition of the pair to mates and other conspecifics.
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Zipple, Matthew N., Susan Peters, William A. Searcy, and Stephen Nowicki. "Sounds of senescence: male swamp sparrows respond less aggressively to the songs of older individuals." Behavioral Ecology 31, no. 2 (January 7, 2020): 533–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arz218.
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Abstract Age-related changes in assessment signals occur in a diverse array of animals, including humans. Age-related decline in vocal quality in humans is known to affect perceived attractiveness by potential mates and voters, but whether such changes have functional implications for nonhuman animals is poorly understood. Most studies of age-related change in animal signals focus on increases in signal quality that occur soon after the age of first breeding (“delayed maturation”), but a few have shown that signal quality declines in older individuals after a mid-life peak (“behavioral senescence”). Whether other individuals are able to detect this senescent decline of assessment signals has not previously been tested. Here we use playback experiments to show that wild male swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) respond more aggressively to songs from 2-year-old males as compared with songs from the same males when they are 10 years old. Senescence in signals that, like birdsong, affect reproductive success through intrasexual competition or mate choice may be of evolutionary significance.
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Sandoval, Luis, Roselvy Juárez, and Mauricio Villarreal. "Different Messages are Transmitted by Individual Duet Contributions and Complete Duets in a Species with Highly Overlapped Duets." Open Ornithology Journal 11, no. 1 (November 22, 2018): 56–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1874453201811010056.
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Background: Duet function hypotheses have been mostly studied in bird species that produce duets with male and female solo songs. However, in order to understand if patterns of duet function are similar across all duetting species, it is highly necessary to test the duet function hypotheses in species that produce duets with vocalizations other than solo songs. Objective: We studied the responses of territorial pairs to each sex’s individual duet contribution and complete duets in a species that produces duets with a vocalization other than male and female solo songs. Methods: We conducted a playback experiment where we presented duet contributions of each sex to three populations of White-eared Ground-sparrows (Melozone leucotis) in Costa Rica, during this species’ breeding season in 2016. Results: The responses to complete duets were stronger than those to each sex’s duet contribution, suggesting that complete duets and each sex’s duet contribution have different functions. Complete duets are used to protect resources from intruders (supporting the resource defense hypothesis), and to prevent the partner from being usurped by intruders (supporting the mate-guarding hypothesis). Males used solo songs in response to female duet contributions, and this may work to attract intruder females (increasing the probability of extra-pair copulation). Males also use solo songs in response to male duet contributions, which may work as a signal to repel intruder males and guard their female. In this case, where mate attraction occurs with a completely different type of vocalization than used for duetting, we found a clear pattern of a double agenda for males when a territorial intrusion occurs. Conclusions: This study provides strong support for the dual function hypothesis in duets and reveals conflicting selective pressures between pair members relative to each hypothesis.
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Espmark, Yngve. "Song of the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) in areas with and without sympatric passerines." Canadian Journal of Zoology 77, no. 9 (November 15, 1999): 1385–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z99-108.
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The acoustic-competition hypothesis predicts that in areas with low species diversity, bird song will vary more from one individual to another and the song of each individual will be less complex than those of conspecifics in areas with more species. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this prediction also applies to the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), which is the only passerine species that breeds regularly in Svalbard, whereas on the Scandinavian mainland it breeds sympatrically with several other species. Songs of 22 and 19 male snow buntings from study areas at Longyearbyen in Svalbard and on the Varanger peninsula in northern Norway, respectively, were analysed with respect to the number and type of syllables and motifs, syllable and intersong diversity, song length, maximum, minimum, and range of frequency, and sharing of song features between individuals. None of the variables differed significantly between the two areas with respect to song variation between individuals. It is suggested that this is related primarily to the migratory and vagrant behaviour of the species, which is thought to entail a considerable annual turnover in the breeding populations in relation to the geographical origin of the birds. Songs were significantly simpler in Svalbard than on the mainland only when complexity was measured as syllable diversity. When it was measured in terms of diversity of song motifs, an opposite, although insignificant, trend was found. The reason for this contradictory tendency is discussed in relation to the problem of defining complexity and choosing relevant variables for assessing song complexity. Individuals in both areas commonly shared syllables, but rarely motifs and song types. The snow buntings in Svalbard shared song features to about the same extent as the birds on the mainland.
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Zeh, Julia, Marc Lammers, Adam Pack, and Susan Parks. "Assessing intra-individual consistency in humpback whale song production using animal-borne acoustic recorders." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 151, no. 4 (April 2022): A74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/10.0010700.
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Studying individual variation in vocal behavior can provide insight into its functions, stability, and mechanisms. Collecting such data at the scale of the individual can be facilitated using animal-borne tags. Here, we use archival suction-cup acoustic recording tags to investigate intra-individual variation in male humpback whale song production. Humpback whale song is a complex and hierarchically structured vocal sequence of 4-7 repeated phrases that are comprised of different units. Repeated songs are termed song sessions. To investigate how consistent song production is within the song session of an individual whale, we deployed suction cup-attached acoustic recording tags on humpback whales in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary during the 2018–2022 breeding seasons. We analyzed tag data from nine whales to assess intra-individual variation in song structure and syntax as well as differences in the acoustic properties of song units across each song iteration. Each tag contained between 4 and 24 song iterations, and song session recordings varied between 45 minutes and 5 hours. Across individuals, the most variable song iterations occurred at the beginning of a song session. All individuals showed variation in syntax and unit production throughout a session; however, some singers were more consistent than others.
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Gersick, Andrew S., and David J. White. "Male cowbirds vary the attractiveness of courtship songs with changes in the social context." Behaviour 155, no. 1 (2018): 1–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-00003475.
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Abstract Courtship-signalling theory often incorporates the assumption that males must consistently produce the highest-intensity displays they can achieve, thereby indicating their underlying quality to females. Contest-signalling theory, in contrast, assumes that flexible signal performance is routine. The two frameworks thereby suggest conflicting predictions about male flexibility when the same signal operates in both intrasexual and intersexual communication. Sexual competition often occurs within complex social environments where male displays can be received by potential mates, rivals, or both at once. In brown-headed cowbirds’ breeding flocks, for example, multiple males sometimes vie directly for a single female’s attention; at other times males have opportunities to sing to females without interference. We tested whether cowbirds vary the intensity of their signalling across contexts like these. We recorded songs from males courting females both with and without a male competitor in sight. We then played those recordings to solitary, naïve females in sound attenuation chambers, and also to a naïve aviary-housed flock. The songs males had produced when they could see their competitors were more attractive, eliciting more copulatory postures from naïve females and more approaches from birds in the flock. Results suggest high-intensity displays function within a larger, flexible signalling strategy in this species, and the varying audience composition that accompanies social complexity may demand flexible signalling even in classic display behaviours such as birdsong.
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Marler, Peter, JÖRG BÖHNER, and Marthaleah Chaiken. "Repertoire Turnover and the Timing of Song Acquisition in European Starlings." Behaviour 128, no. 1-2 (1994): 25–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853994x00037.
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AbstractIn order to establish unambiguously whether a reputed open-ended learner, the European starling, could memorize new songs in adulthood, we exposed hand-reared male starlings to a series of either live conspecific tutors or tape recordings of conspecific song over a period of 18 months, and isolated them from any other exposure to conspecific song. The song motifs produced by the birds were compared with those of their tutors or training tapes to infer the time of motif memorization. We found that the starlings continued to memorize and produce new song motifs, both within and between breeding seasons, up to the age of at least 18 months. Not all the new motifs in the repertoires had been recently memorized; in some cases there was an apparent lag of a year and a half between memorization and production. There were no significant differences between live-tutored and tape-tutored groups in the timing of learning or in the rate of repertoire turnover (55-92% new motifs in each repertoire sample), although, as we have reported previously, live-tutored birds imitated a greater number of motifs and developed larger repertoires.
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Grace, Jaime L., and Kerry L. Shaw. "Incipient sexual isolation in Laupala cerasina: Females discriminate population-level divergence in acoustic characters." Current Zoology 58, no. 3 (June 1, 2012): 416–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/czoolo/58.3.416.
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Abstract Sexual selection by female choice can shape the evolution of male traits within populations, since the most attractive males experience an increase in fitness through elevated mating success. Speciation by sexual selection occurs when evolution in traits and preferences within populations causes differentiation among populations, such that females in alternative populations prefer sexual signals of their own population relative to others. Differentiated traits and preferences thereby play an active role in limiting gene flow between divergent populations. The effectiveness of differentiated preferences in maintaining differentiated male signals against the homogenizing effects of gene flow across populations will be limited by both the degree to which females can discriminate against non-local males, and the breeding values of traits and preferences. Populations of the Hawaiian cricket Laupala cerasina have diverged in pulse rate, a sexually selected male signal, and female acoustic preference for pulse rate. Gene flow between neighboring populations may be reduced if migrants from sexually diverged populations experience reduced mating success. We show that females discriminate among divergent songs characteristic of neighboring populations, that differences among populations in song and preference breed true in a common environment, and that mean preferences for each population closely match the mean pulse rates. Divergence in preference was observed only between populations that also differed in song. Along with a striking ability to discriminate slight differences in song, correlated evolution of song and preference within populations could be a mechanism that promotes assortative mating among populations, thereby reducing gene flow, and leading to speciation in Laupala.
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Sorjonen, Jorma. "Temporal and Spatial Differences in Traditions and Repertoires in the Song of the Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia Luscinia)." Behaviour 102, no. 3-4 (1987): 196–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853986x00126.
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AbstractDifferences in the song repertoires of males and in the song-pools of the thrush nightingale populations were studied in 1972, 1983 and 1984 in southern Finland. Changes in male repertoires and in the song-pool of one population were monitored in 1972 and 1980-1985. The thrush nightingales in a local population had repertoires that were more similar to each other than to those of the males in other local populations. The similarity of the repertoires decreased with increasing distance, but there were no clear-cut dialect boundaries between local populations. The song repertoire of a male was more similar to that of the adjacent males than to his own repertoire of the previous year. The similarity of the repertoires of adjacent singers increased during the singing period. This similarity was partly due to the same song-types being used with about equal frequency, but obviously the males were also able to learn new songs from their adjacent singers. After dispersal to a breeding area thrush nightingales learn at least some new song-types, even at the age of two to four years. Some old breeders were able to copy new song-types from the immigrants (mostly young males) or the playback tape. The newly copied song-types were loud and simple in structure, whereas the song-types soon to be abandoned were weak in amplitude. In one population, studied from 1980 to 1985, the repertoires of the males tended to become more similar in successive years. This tendency, however, did not occur in 1984 when the proportion of immigrants in the population was unusually high. The major changes in local song traditions were due to "cultural diffusion" by males originating from areas with other traditions; this diffusion greatly enriched the local song-pool, especially in years when the rate of immigration was high.
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DuVal, Emily H. "Cooperative Display and Lekking Behavior of the Lance-Tailed Manakin (Chiroxiphia Lanceolata)." Auk 124, no. 4 (October 1, 2007): 1168–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/auk/124.4.1168.
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Abstract Male Lance-tailed Manakins (Chiroxiphia lanceolata) perform multi-male courtship displays for females. To characterize the behavioral repertoire and the lek spatial organization of this species, I observed lekking males on Isla Boca Brava, Chiriquí Province, Panamá. Breeding began in March and continued through June, though courtship displays were recorded as late as November. Males were active throughout the day at display areas on the dispersed lek. Display areas were spaced 102 ± 30 m apart and averaged 2,480 ± 1,060 m2 in area (range: 525–4,500 m2; n = 24 display areas). The behavioral repertoire of Lance-tailed Manakins included 11 dance display elements, 7 common vocalizations, and 2 types of male-male duet songs. Duet songs and multimale dances for females were cooperative efforts by male pairs and included display elements that were never performed during courtship displays by solitary males. However, males performed both cooperative and entirely solo displays for females that ended in successful copulation, which suggests that cooperation is not obligate in this species, at least on the level of individual displays. Two sonations, or nonvocal communicative sounds, were noted during courtship displays: low-amplitude pulses of noise produced in rapid sets of 7–30 clicks during slow flight displays, and a low-frequency woosh produced at the nadir of swoop displays. The Lance-tailed Manakin display repertoire provides information useful in comparative analyses of the origin and evolution of display behavior within the manakin clade and in studies of the adaptive consequences of individual behavior within this species. Exhibición Cooperativa y Comportamiento de Asambleas de Cortejo en Chiroxiphia lanceolata
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Foote, Jennifer R., Lauren P. Fitzsimmons, Lynnea M. Lobert, Laurene M. Ratcliffe, and Daniel J. Mennill. "A Population-level Analysis of Morning Song: Exploring the Implications for Point Counts." Canadian Field-Naturalist 131, no. 1 (July 14, 2017): 10–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v131i1.1779.
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Point counts are widely used for conducting ecological surveys of wild birds. Vocal output of birds varies with time of day, and therefore the results of ecological surveys should also vary with time of day. We modeled how males’ singing rates change over the morning. We calculated song rates in 3 min sampling periods (the standard sampling period used by the North American Breeding Bird Survey) and compared how detection rates vary as sampling period increases. We recorded singing activity in 15 neighbourhoods of breeding Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) with 16-element microphone arrays that recorded every song from every male in every neighbourhood. We calculated the proportion of males that produced one or more songs during 3, 5, and 10 min count periods between nautical twilight and late morning. our results show a strong peak in singing activity just before sunrise followed by a steady decline in singing activity over the course of the morning. We found that longer sampling periods yielded significantly higher detection rates at all times after sunrise. After sunrise, detection rates never exceeded 60%, even with 10 min sampling periods. We found that unpaired males had significantly higher detection rates than paired males but we found no difference between paired males with fertile versus incubating mates. our results provide strong evidence that, for black-capped Chickadees, surveys during the dawn chorus provide the most comprehensive assessment of the number of birds present, and that longer sampling periods yield significantly better estimates of population sizes at all times after sunrise.
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Taff, Conor C., Gail L. Patricelli, and Corey R. Freeman-Gallant. "Fluctuations in neighbourhood fertility generate variable signalling effort." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281, no. 1796 (December 7, 2014): 20141974. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1974.
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Studies of sexual signalling generally focus on interactions between dyadic pairs, yet communication in natural populations often occurs in the context of complex social networks. The ability to survey social environments and adjust signal production appropriately should be a critical component of success in these systems, but has rarely been documented empirically. Here, we used autonomous recording devices to identify 118 472 songs produced by 26 male common yellowthroats ( Geothlypis trichas ) over two breeding seasons, coupled with detailed surveys of social conditions on each territory. We found strong evidence that common yellowthroat males adjusted their total song production in response to both changes in within-pair social context and changes in the fertility of neighbouring females up to 400 m away. Within the social pair, males drastically reduced their song production when mated, but the magnitude of this reduction depended on both the time of day and on the fertility status of the social mate. By contrast, when fertile females were present on nearby territories, males increased their song output, especially during daytime singing. At this time, it is unclear whether males actively gathered information on neighbouring female fertility or whether the patterns that we observed were driven by changes in social interactions that varied with neighbourhood fertility. Regardless of the mechanism employed, however, subtle changes in the social environment generated substantial variation in signalling effort.
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Riters, Lauren V., and Donald P. Teague. "The volumes of song control nuclei, HVC and lMAN, relate to differential behavioral responses of female European starlings to male songs produced within and outside of the breeding season." Brain Research 978, no. 1-2 (July 2003): 91–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0006-8993(03)02771-9.
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Robin, Jean-Patrice, Laurent Boucontet, Pascal Chillet, and René Groscolas. "Behavioral changes in fasting emperor penguins: evidence for a “refeeding signal” linked to a metabolic shift." American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 274, no. 3 (March 1, 1998): R746—R753. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.1998.274.3.r746.
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This study examines the relationships between metabolic status and behavior in spontaneously fasting birds in the context of long-term regulation of body mass and feeding. Locomotor activity, escape behavior, display songs, body mass, and metabolic and endocrine status of captive male emperor penguins were recorded during a breeding fast. We also examined whether body mass at the end of the fast affected further survival. The major part of the fast ( phase II) was characterized by the maintenance of a very low level of locomotor activity, with almost no attempt to escape, by an almost constant rate of body mass loss, and by steady plasma levels of uric acid, β-hydroxybutyrate, and corticosterone. This indicates behavioral and metabolic adjustments directed toward sparing energy and body protein. Below a body mass of ∼24 kg ( phase III), spontaneous locomotor activity and attempts to escape increased by up to 8- and 15-fold, respectively, and display songs were resumed. This probably reflected an increase in the drive to refeed. Simultaneously, daily body mass loss and plasma levels of uric acid and corticosterone increased, whereas plasma levels of β-hydroxybutyrate decreased. Some experimental birds were seen again in following years. These findings suggest that at a threshold of body mass, a metabolic and endocrine shift, possibly related to a limited availability of fat stores, acts as a “refeeding signal” that improves the survival of penguins to fasting.
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Manica, Lilian T., Jeff A. Graves, Jeffrey Podos, and Regina H. Macedo. "Hidden leks in a migratory songbird: mating advantages for earlier and more attractive males." Behavioral Ecology 31, no. 5 (July 21, 2020): 1180–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araa065.
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Abstract In some socially monogamous birds, territories sometimes occur in aggregations. The “hidden lek” hypothesis suggests that territorial aggregations might be explained by males establishing territories near successful males (“hotshot” model) or by females preferring to mate in large clusters (“female preference” model). In both scenarios, clusters would provide more opportunities for finding mates and achieving extrapair copulations. Our study tests predictions of these two models in the blue-black grassquit (Volatinia jacarina). Males of this species migrate to their breeding grounds, establish territories within clusters, and initiate courtship displays. These displays consist of vertical leaps synchronized with vocalizations, or only the latter without leaps. The “hotshot” model predicts that: 1) earlier-arriving males would establish territories more centrally within clusters; 2) earlier or centrally positioned males would produce more elaborate displays; and 3) these same males would achieve higher success via within and extrapair fertilizations. The “female preference” model predicts that: 4) pairing success and 5) per-capita extrapair fertilizations would increase with cluster size. We found that earlier-arriving males executed higher leaps and longer songs, but there was no relationship between these traits and male position within clusters. We also found that earlier-arriving males were more likely to obtain extrapair fertilizations. However, we found little evidence that cluster size related to overall or per-capita breeding success. Considered together, our data provide partial validation of the hotshot model of hidden leks and expand on prior findings in this species by showing that females benefit by choosing males leaping higher and settling earlier in clusters.
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Pandolfino, Edward R., and Chris Ray. "Comparison of the Songs of Cassin’s and Plumbeous Vireos." Western Birds 51, no. 4 (October 31, 2020): 293–306. http://dx.doi.org/10.21199/wb51.4.2.
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We compared the songs of Cassin’s (Vireo cassinii) and Plumbeous (V. plumbeus) Vireos to determine if there are characteristics that could allow one to confidently distinguish between these species by song. Using recordings made in the breeding season and within the undisputed breeding ranges of each species, away from the zone of contact, we compared five characteristics of a song: phrase length, rate of phrase delivery, proportion of frequency-modulated (buzzy) phrases, proportion of doubled phrases, and midpoint frequency between the highest and lowest frequencies of a phrase. Among these, the only character in which the species differed significantly was the average midpoint frequency of song phrases. Despite overlap between the species in the distribution of average midpoint frequency, a criterion of 3215 Hz allowed ~84% of the vireo songs in our sample to be identified correctly. We also tabulated expected proportions of true and false positive species identifications based on the full range of average midpoint frequencies likely to be encountered, finding that values >3410 Hz have a >95% probability of representing Cassin’s Vireo, and values <3050 have a >95% probability of representing the Plumbeous Vireo. Various field guides show conflicting breeding ranges for these species, and there are many field reports of both vireos outside their known breeding ranges in the breeding season. Given that visual identification of these birds in the field can be difficult when individuals are in faded spring/summer plumage, song may allow us to better define the actual limits of these species’ breeding ranges.
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Verheyen, Rudolf Frans, Marcel Eens, and Rianne Pinxten. "Male Song as a Cue for Mate Choice in the European Starling." Behaviour 116, no. 3-4 (1991): 210–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853991x00049.
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AbstractThis study had two aims. First, we looked at individual differences in song characteristics between males of the European starling, and we related song behaviour to factors such as male age, pairing date, polygyny and male breeding success. Second, we experimentally tested whether song has an effect on female mating decisions. 1. During the breeding season, male starlings sing a very long and complex song consisting of a rapid succession of large number of different song types. We observed marked differences between males in average song bout length (a song bout was defined as a period of at least five seconds of song containing no pauses larger than 1.5 seconds) and in song repertoire size. Average song bout lengths ranged from 16 to 35 seconds. The individual repertoire size ranged from 23 to 67 song types. Repertoire size and average song bout length were positively correlated. 2. Both in the field and in captivity, yearling males sang shorter average song bout lengths and had smaller repertoire sizes than older males. 3. Males singing longer average song bouts and having larger repertoire sizes attracted females for pairing before their rivals with shorter average song bouts and smaller repertoire sizes.
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Warren, Victoria E., Rochelle Constantine, Michael Noad, Claire Garrigue, and Ellen C. Garland. "Migratory insights from singing humpback whales recorded around central New Zealand." Royal Society Open Science 7, no. 11 (November 2020): 201084. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201084.
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The migration routes of wide-ranging species can be difficult to study, particularly at sea. In the western South Pacific, migratory routes of humpback whales between breeding and feeding areas are unclear. Male humpback whales sing a population-specific song, which can be used to match singers on migration to a breeding population. To investigate migratory routes and breeding area connections, passive acoustic recorders were deployed in the central New Zealand migratory corridor (2016); recorded humpback whale song was compared to song from the closest breeding populations of East Australia and New Caledonia (2015–2017). Singing northbound whales migrated past New Zealand from June to August via the east coast of the South Island and Cook Strait. Few song detections were made along the east coast of the North Island. New Zealand song matched New Caledonia song, suggesting a migratory destination, but connectivity to East Australia could not be ruled out. Two song types were present in New Zealand, illustrating the potential for easterly song transmission from East Australia to New Caledonia in this shared migratory corridor. This study enhances our understanding of western South Pacific humpback whale breeding population connectivity, and provides novel insights into the dynamic transmission of song culture.
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Kermott, L. Henry, and L. Scott Johnson. "The Functions of Song in Male House Wrens (Troglodytes Aedon)." Behaviour 116, no. 3-4 (1991): 190–209. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853991x00030.
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AbstractTo assess the functions of song in male house wrens (Troglodytes aedon), we examined the pattern of song output during different stages of the breeding cycle and behaviour patterns of focal males and conspecifics that were associated with song. We recorded 2093.5 bouts of song from 11 different males in 12 breeding cycles during 3 years. Most song sung prior to pairing is sung at a high volume and is given spontaneously (i.e. is apparently not produced in response to the behaviour of any conspecific). Production of high volume spontaneous song ceased immediately for at least 7 days when the male paired, but resumed immediately upon loss of the mate. Paired males sang high volume spontaneous song after mates began incubating, and almost always sang this song within 10 m of an unoccupied nest site. Several males attracted second mates to these nest sites and immediately ceased their output of high volume spontaneous song. These observations strongly suggest that high volume spontaneous song functions in mate attraction. Male house wrens do not appear to use song on a routine basis to communicate with neighbours or other males. However, they do appear to direct song at other males when territories are threatened. Song is sung at intruders in the territory and at neighbours just establishing a territory of their own. Most song sung after pairing appears to be directed towards mates. We suspect than males use song to inform mates that there is no immediate threat of predation, allowing mates to move quickly to and from nest sites. We discuss the role and benefits of descriptive, correlative studies in assessing song function.
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Cornez, Gilles, Shelley Valle, Ednei Barros dos Santos, Ioana Chiver, Wendt Müller, Gregory F. Ball, Charlotte A. Cornil, and Jacques Balthazart. "Perineuronal nets in HVC and plasticity in male canary song." PLOS ONE 16, no. 8 (August 27, 2021): e0252560. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252560.
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Songbirds learn their vocalizations during developmental sensitive periods of song memorization and sensorimotor learning. Some seasonal songbirds, called open-ended learners, recapitulate transitions from sensorimotor learning and song crystallization on a seasonal basis during adulthood. In adult male canaries, sensorimotor learning occurs each year in autumn and leads to modifications of the syllable repertoire during successive breeding seasons. We previously showed that perineuronal nets (PNN) expression in song control nuclei decreases during this sensorimotor learning period. Here we explored the causal link between PNN expression in adult canaries and song modification by enzymatically degrading PNN in HVC, a key song control system nucleus. Three independent experiments identified limited effects of the PNN degradation in HVC on the song structure of male canaries. They clearly establish that presence of PNN in HVC is not required to maintain general features of crystallized song. Some suggestion was collected that PNN are implicated in the stability of song repertoires but this evidence is too preliminary to draw firm conclusions and additional investigations should consider producing PNN degradations at specified time points of the seasonal cycle. It also remains possible that once song has been crystallized at the beginning of the first breeding season, PNN no longer play a key role in determining song structure; this could be tested by treatments with chondroitinase ABC at key steps in ontogeny. It would in this context be important to develop multiple stereotaxic procedures allowing the simultaneous bilateral degradation of PNN in several song control nuclei for extended periods.
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Pinxten, Rianne, Denitza Pavlova, Marcel Eens, and Veerle Darras. "Effects of nestboxes and males on female song activity in the European starling: an experimental study." Behaviour 144, no. 10 (2007): 1255–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853907781890968.
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AbstractEnvironmental, contextual or social factors influencing song in female songbirds have been little studied. Female European starlings Sturnus vulgaris sing robustly throughout most of the year, except during the breeding season when their song production dramatically decreases. Here we experimentally investigated the effect of the presence of males and/or nestboxes on song production in captive female starlings during the breeding season. Spontaneous song activity of two experimental groups and one control group (housed with nestboxes, but no males) was observed for one month from the end of March onwards. Additionally, we tested whether female song rate is related to oestradiol plasma levels. The experimental results showed that song rate significantly decreased with the progressing of the breeding season and this process seemed not to be regulated by oestradiol. Nestboxes clearly promoted song production, as previously found in male starlings, while the presence of males negatively affected female song rate. Taken together these results indicate that, in the course of the breeding period, the suppressive influence of the day length and the presence of males on female song production override the stimulating effect of nestboxes, and that engagement in breeding activities is largely incompatible with singing in female starlings.
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Dittami, John, Maria Hoi-Leitner, and Heidrun Nechtelberger. "The Relationship Between Individual Differences in Male Song Frequency and Parental Care in Blackcaps." Behaviour 126, no. 1-2 (1993): 1–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853993x00308.
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AbstractSong rates in male blackcaps were examined over the course of the breeding season and compared with various aspects of mating and later parental behavior in individual birds. Song rates decreased steadily over the breeding season although relative individual rates remained constant. Early territory holders sang more and mated faster than late-comers. Song frequency was positively related to alarm call frequency during nesting but negatively related to male incubation and offspring feeding rates. Surprisingly, under the conditions studied, higher song rates were indicative of higher nesting success. This demonstrates the potential role of song frequency in the advertisement of territorial quality. There may well be either environmentally dependent differences in parental care as adaptations to temperature, food or predation pressure or simply a trade-off for males between singing and parental care, where early arriving males derive greater fitness benefits from singing, while late arriving males benefit more from engaging in parental care.
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Nicklin, Charles P., James D. Darling, and Meagan E. Jones. "Humpback whale songs: Do they organize males during the breeding season?" Behaviour 143, no. 9 (2006): 1051–101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853906778607381.
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Cornioley, Tina, Stéphanie Jenouvrier, Luca Börger, Henri Weimerskirch, and Arpat Ozgul. "Fathers matter: male body mass affects life-history traits in a size-dimorphic seabird." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 284, no. 1854 (May 3, 2017): 20170397. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0397.
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One of the predicted consequences of climate change is a shift in body mass distributions within animal populations. Yet body mass, an important component of the physiological state of an organism, can affect key life-history traits and consequently population dynamics. Over the past decades, the wandering albatross—a pelagic seabird providing bi-parental care with marked sexual size dimorphism—has exhibited an increase in average body mass and breeding success in parallel with experiencing increasing wind speeds. To assess the impact of these changes, we examined how body mass affects five key life-history traits at the individual level: adult survival, breeding probability, breeding success, chick mass and juvenile survival. We found that male mass impacted all traits examined except breeding probability, whereas female mass affected none. Adult male survival increased with increasing mass. Increasing adult male mass increased breeding success and mass of sons but not of daughters. Juvenile male survival increased with their chick mass. These results suggest that a higher investment in sons by fathers can increase their inclusive fitness, which is not the case for daughters. Our study highlights sex-specific differences in the effect of body mass on the life history of a monogamous species with bi-parental care.
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Bonderud, Erica S., Nancy J. Flood, Jonathan D. Van Hamme, Cameron A. W. Boyda, and Matthew W. Reudink. "Female mountain bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) paired to more colourful males produce male-biased broods." Behaviour 153, no. 3 (2016): 367–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-00003350.
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Sex allocation theory predicts that females should bias the sex ratio of their offspring in response to differences in the reproductive value of sons versus daughters. Consistent with this prediction, females of many species appear to bias offspring sex ratios in response to mate attractiveness and condition. Male mountain bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) display full body UV-blue structural plumage colouration, which is associated with attractiveness, condition, and reproductive success. Over four breeding seasons, we found females paired with more colourful males produced increasingly male-biased broods and provisioned offspring at a higher rate. Surprisingly, however, we also found females with duller plumage and those mated to first-year males produced more male-biased broods. These results provide support for sex allocation in mountain bluebirds and suggest female reproductive decisions may be influenced by the attractiveness of her mate. However, this system is clearly complex and more work is needed to understand the roles of male age and female colouration in the signalling systems of mountain bluebirds.
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Hofstad, E., Y. Espmark, A. Moksnes, T. Haugan, and M. Ingebrigtsen. "The relationship between song performance and male quality in snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis)." Canadian Journal of Zoology 80, no. 3 (March 1, 2002): 524–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z02-033.
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Attracting females is considered to be one of the main functions of bird song. Both the rate and complexity of male song are assumed to be reliable, quality-related cues that may be used by the female when choosing a mate. In this study of the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) on Svalbard, both these song parameters were considered as possible quality indicators for the female. Owing to the challenging environmental conditions in the High Arctic, a high degree of male effort is probably necessary to successfully raise the clutch. Male song rate and song complexity were therefore predicted to be correlated with early mating, male feeding rate during the female's incubation, male feeding rate during the nestling stage, and the number of fledglings produced. Although song length tended to be positively associated with the number of fledged young, the different song complexity parameters did not show any clear association with the onset of breeding, the male's food provisioning rate, and the number of fledglings. However, the song rate was significantly correlated with early mating, and there was a positive, although not significant, correlation between song rate and the rate at which older chicks were fed by the male. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that females might use male song rate to assess male quality and ability to participate in raising chicks.
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Potvin, D. A., P. W. Crawford, S. A. MacDougall-Shackleton, and E. A. MacDougall-Shackleton. "Song repertoire size, not territory location, predicts reproductive success and territory tenure in a migratory songbird." Canadian Journal of Zoology 93, no. 8 (August 2015): 627–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2015-0039.
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In territorial animals occupying environments that vary in quality over the landscape, high-quality individuals are predicted to monopolize high-quality territories. Thus, in many cases it may be difficult to disentangle the relative effects of individual quality from those of territory quality on long-term fitness. We used a 9-year field data set from a migratory population of Eastern Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia melodia (A. Wilson, 1810)) to evaluate the relative contributions of male song quality (as measured by song repertoire size) and territory location to fitness components including annual reproductive success, overwinter return rates, and between-year territory tenure. Song repertoire size did not predict territory location, allowing us to evaluate territory location and song quality separately. Song repertoire size, but not territory location, predicted annual reproductive success. Moreover, males with larger repertoires moved smaller distances between subsequent breeding seasons, suggesting more successful territory tenure. There was no effect of either repertoire size or territory location on overwinter return. We conclude that intrinsic male phenotype, indicated by song repertoire size, is an important predictor of male fitness, independent of breeding-territory location in this migratory population, and that the value of specific territories may depend largely on previous experience.
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Rytkonen, Seppo O., Markku I. Orell, Kari T. Koivula, and P. Petteri Welling. "Song Rate Correlates With Paternal Care and Survival in Willow Tits: Advertisement of Male Quality?" Behaviour 134, no. 11-12 (1997): 891–904. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853997x00214.
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AbstractDawn song in birds may advertise male quality in terms of parental care and/or survival. Males who sing most may also be the best parents, and eager singing may also reflect good chances of a male's or his mate's survival. These relationships were studied in the willow tit Parus montanus, a species with a simple and relatively non-variant song. Song output was expressed as the proportion of time a male spent singing at dawn. Later in the breeding season, two aspects of parental care, nest defence and feeding effort, were measured in the same males. High song output was associated with more intense nest defence behaviour (eager singers attacked the predator model more often and approached closer to it) and high nestling feeding effort. However, reproductive success was not associated with song output, although males with high song rates tended to be more likely to produce recruits. Males who survived to the next year had higher song intensity than males who did not survive, while female survival was not correlated with song output of her mate. The results suggest that dawn song in the willow tit advertises male quality. Some aspects of honest advertisement and female choice are discussed.
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Polzin, Brandon J., Sarah A. Heimovics, and Lauren V. Riters. "Immunolabeling Provides Evidence for Subregions in the Songbird Nucleus Accumbens and Suggests a Context-Dependent Role in Song in Male European Starlings (<b><i>Sturnus vulgaris</i></b>)." Brain, Behavior and Evolution 96, no. 3 (2021): 147–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000521310.
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Birdsong is well known for its role in mate attraction during the breeding season. However, many birds, including European starlings (<i>Sturnus vulgaris</i>), also sing outside the breeding season as part of large flocks. Song in a breeding context can be extrinsically rewarded by mate attraction; however, song in nonbreeding flocks, referred to here as gregarious song, results in no obvious extrinsic reward and is proposed to be intrinsically rewarded. The nucleus accumbens (NAC) is a brain region well known to mediate reward and motivation, which suggests it is an ideal candidate to regulate reward associated with gregarious song. The goal of this study was to provide new histochemical information on the songbird NAC and its subregions (rostral pole, core, and shell) and to begin to determine subregion-specific contributions to gregarious song in male starlings. We examined immunolabeling for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), neurotensin, and enkephalin (ENK) in the NAC. We then examined the extent to which gregarious and sexually motivated song differentially correlated with immunolabeling for the immediate early genes FOS and ZENK in each subdivision of the NAC. We found that TH and ENK labeling within subregions of the starling NAC was generally similar to patterns seen in the core and shell of NACs in mammals and birds. Additionally, we found that gregarious song, but not sexually motivated song, positively correlated with FOS in all NAC subregions. Our observations provide further evidence for distinct subregions within the songbird NAC and suggest the NAC may play an important role in regulating gregarious song in songbirds.