How to translate text using browser tools
28 April 2021 First description of the structure and geographic patterns in the songs of the Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis)
Kevin C. Hannah, Erin M. Bayne, Natalie V. Sánchez
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Geographic variation in song characteristics within songbird species has the potential to reveal some of the complex interactions between ecology and behavior. The Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis) is an uncommon and little studied Neotropical migratory wood warbler that breeds across the southern boreal forest in North America. The song of the Connecticut Warbler has remained poorly described and, prior to our study, no detailed spectrographic analysis exists. We document 20 distinct song variants in this species, based on differences in the structure and sequence of notes within repeated phrases, from across the breeding range. One song type, distributed across the entire breeding range, represented 36% of our samples. Preliminary evidence suggests a lack of geographic structure and no evidence of dialects or regiolects in the song types of this species. Our results highlight a unique distribution in song types within the OporornisGeothlypis complex, providing a baseline for future studies of geographic variation in this, and related, species.

Kevin C. Hannah, Erin M. Bayne, and Natalie V. Sánchez "First description of the structure and geographic patterns in the songs of the Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis)," The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 132(3), 598-607, (28 April 2021). https://doi.org/10.1676/19-104
Received: 10 September 2019; Accepted: 16 December 2020; Published: 28 April 2021
KEYWORDS
acoustic
bird song
boreal
geographic variation
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top