BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 17 December 2024 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 January 2019 Song Does Not Function as a Signal of Direct Aggression in Two Leaf-Warbler Species
Yulia Kolesnikova, Meishi Liu, Zujie Kang, Alexey Opaev
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

In many songbirds, males vary aspects of their singing behaviour when engaged in territorial interactions. Song rate, song type switching rate, song matching, song overlapping, and the use of specific song or call types have all been proposed to be aggressive signals. It is not clear why such variability in aggressive signaling mechanisms exists among different species. We used a comparative approach to study how two Phylloscopus warbler species respond to playback-simulated territorial intrusion. We examined whether the spontaneous songs of Large-billed Phylloscopus magnirostris and Sulphur-breasted P. ricketii leaf-warblers differed from songs produced in response to playback. Song bouts were analysed by measuring 10–12 parameters, but we found no differences between spontaneous songs and playback responses in either species. All males clearly responded to playback by approaching the loudspeaker and flying around it. Large-billed Leaf-warblers produced ‘crackling’ sounds in response to playback more frequently than during spontaneous singing, whereas the usually highly vocal Sulphur-breasted Leaf-warblers possibly (and surprisingly) did not use vocalizations (either songs or calls) to signal direct aggression. A comparison with other Phylloscopus species revealed that even closely related species (i.e. from a single genus) might use different strategies when responding to simulated territorial intrusion. The aggressive signalling strategy is therefore a labile trait that can potentially be exposed to fast evolutionary change.

© The Ornithological Society of Japan 2019
Yulia Kolesnikova, Meishi Liu, Zujie Kang, and Alexey Opaev "Song Does Not Function as a Signal of Direct Aggression in Two Leaf-Warbler Species," Ornithological Science 18(1), 17-26, (1 January 2019). https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.18.17
Received: 18 October 2017; Accepted: 13 May 2018; Published: 1 January 2019
KEYWORDS
acoustic communication
Phylloscopus
playback
song
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top