Soft song in song sparrows: Response of males and females to an enigmatic signal

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

Volumn 61, Issue 8, 2007, Pages 1267-1274

  Anderson, Rindy C ^a   Nowicki, Stephen ^a   Searcy, William A ^b  

^a DUKE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b Department of Biology   (United States)

Author keywords

Aggressive signaling; Bird song; Melospiza melodia; Soft song; Song sparrow

Indexed keywords

AGGRESSION; BIOACOUSTICS; COURTSHIP; SIGNAL; SONG; SONGBIRD;

AVES; MELOSPIZA; MELOSPIZA MELODIA; PASSERI;

EID: 34248525595     PISSN: 03405443     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s00265-007-0357-7     Document Type: Article

References (52)

1. Anderson RC (2006) Song as an aggressive signal in the song sparrow Melospiza melodia. Doctoral dissertation, University of Miami, Coral Gables
2. Arak A (1983) Sexual selection by male-male competition in natterjack toad choruses. Nature 306:261-262
3. Beecher MD, Campbell SE, Burt JM, Hill CE, Nordby JC (2000) Song-type matching between neighbouring song sparrows. Anim Behav 59:21-27
4. Brenowitz EA, Rose GJ (1999) Female choice and plasticity of male calling behaviour in the Pacific treefrog. Anim Behav 57:1337-1342
5. Catchpole CK (1983) Variation in the song of the great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus in relation to mate attraction and territorial defence. Anim Behav 31:1217-1225
6. Dabelsteen, T, Pedersen SB (1988) Song parts adapted to function both at long and short ranges may communicate information about the species to female blackbirds Turdus merula. Ornis Scand 19:195-198
7. Dabelsteen T, Pedersen SB (1990) Song and information about aggressive responses of blackbirds, Turdus merula: evidence from interactive playback experiments with territory owners. Anim Behav 40:1158-1168
8. Dabelsteen T, McGregor PK, Lampe HM, Langmore NE, Holland J (1998) Quiet song in birds: an overlooked phenomenon. Bioacoustics 9:80-105
9. Davies NB, Halliday TR (1978) Deep croaks and fighting assessment in toads Bufo bufo. Nature 274:683-685
10. Dawkins R, Krebs JR (1978) Animal signals: Information or manipulation? In: Krebs JR, Davies NB (eds) Behavioural ecology. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 282-309
11. Enquist M (1985) Communication during aggressive interactions with particular reference to variation in choice of behaviour. Anim Behav 33:1152-1161
12. Eriksson D, Wallin L (1986) Male bird song attracts females - a field experiment. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 19:297-299
13. Falls JB, Kopachena JG (1994) White-throated sparrow (Zonatrichia albicollis). In: Poole A, Gill F (eds) The birds of North America, vol. 128. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
14. Fellers GM (1979) Aggression, territoriality, and mating behaviour in North American treefrogs. Anim Behav 27:107-119
15. Gerhardt HC, Huber F (2002) Acoustic communication in insects and anurans. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
16. Grafen A (1990) Biological signals as handicaps. J Theor Biol 144:517-546
17. Hinde RA, Steel E (1976) The effect of male song on an estrogendependent behavior pattern in the female canary (Serinus canarius). Horm Behav 7:293-304
18. Howard RD (1978) The evolution of mating strategies in bullfrogs, Rana catesbeiana. Evolution 32(4):850-871
19. Hurd PL (1997) Is signalling of fighting ability costlier for weaker individuals? J Theor Biol 184:83-88
20. Järvi T, Radesäter T, Jakobsson S (1980) The song of the willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus with special reference to singing behaviour in agonistic situations. Ornis Scand 11:236-242
21. Johnson LS, Searcy WA (1996) Female attraction to male song in house wrens (Troglodytes aedon). Behaviour 133:357-366
22. King AP, West MJ (1977) Species identification in the North American cowbird: appropriate responses to abnormal song. Science 195:1002-1004
23. Kroodsma DE (1976) Reproductive development in a female songbird: differential stimulation by quality of male song. Science 192:574-575
24. Latimer W, Sippel M (1987) Acoustic cues for female choice and male competition in Tettigonia cantans. Anim Behav 35:887-900
25. Lundberg A, Alatalo RV (1992) The pied flycatcher. T & A D Poyser, London
26. Maynard Smith J (1979) Game theory and the evolution of behaviour. Proc R Soc Lond B 205:475-488
27. Maynard Smith J, Harper DGC (1995) Animal signals: models and terminology. J Theor Biol 177:305-311
28. Maynard Smith J, Harper D (2003) Animal signals. Oxford University Press, Oxford
29. McGregor PK, Dabelsteen T (1996) Communication networks. In: Kroodsma DE, Miller EH (eds) Ecology and evolution of acoustic communication in birds. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY 409-425
30. Molles LE, Vehrencamp SL (2001) Songbird cheaters pay a retaliation cost: evidence for auditory conventional signals. Proc R Soc Lond B 268:2013-2019
31. Nice MM (1943) Studies in the life history of the song sparrow. II. The behavior of the song sparrow and other passerines. Trans Linn Soc NY 6:1-328
32. Nowicki S, Peters S, Podos J (1998) Song learning, early nutrition and sexual selection in songbirds. Am Zool 38:179-190
33. Nowicki S, Searcy WA, Peters S (2002) Brain development, song learning and mate choice in birds: a review and experimental test of the "nutritional stress hypothesis". J Comp Physiol A 188:1003-1014
34. Oberweger K, Goller F (2001) The metabolic cost of birdsong production. J Exp Biol 204:3379-3388
35. Peters SS, Searcy WA, Marler P (1980) Species song discrimination in choice experiments with territorial male swamp and song sparrows. Anim Behav 28:393-404
36. Popp JW (1987) Risk and effectiveness in the use of agonistic displays by American goldfinches. Behaviour 103:141-156
37. Robertson JGM (1986) Male territoriality, fighting and assessment of fighting ability in the Australian frog Uperoleia rugosa. Anim Behav 34:763-772
38. Schwartz JJ (1987) The importance of spectral and temporal properties in species and call recognition in a neotropical treefrog with a complex vocal repertoire. Anim Behav 35:340-347
39. Searcy WA (1996) Sound-pressure levels and song preferences in female red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) (Aves, Emberizidae). Ethology 102:187-196
40. Searcy WA, Marler P (1981) A test for responsiveness to song structure and programming in female sparrows. Science 213:926-928
41. Searcy WA, Nowicki S (2000) Male-male competition and female choice in the evolution of vocal signaling. In: Espmark Y, Amundsen T, Rosenqvist G (eds) Animal signals: signalling and signal design in animal communication. Tapir Academic, Trondheim, Norway, pp 301-315
42. Searcy WA, Nowicki S (2005) The evolution of animal communication: reliability and deception in signaling systems. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
43. Searcy WA, Nowicki S (2006) Signal interception and the use of soft song in aggressive interactions. Ethology 112:865-872
44. Searcy WA, Nowicki S, Hughes M (1997) The response of male and female song sparrows to geographic variation in song. Condor 99:651-657
45. Searcy WA, Anderson RC, Nowicki S (2006) Bird song as a signal of aggressive intent. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 60:234-241
46. Snow DW (1958) A study of blackbirds. Dorset, Dorchester
47. Spencer KA, Buchanan KL, Goldsmith AR, Catchpole CK (2004) Developmental stress, social rank and song complexity in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Proc R Soc Lond B 271:S121-S123
48. Vehrencamp SL (2000) Handicap, index, and conventional signal elements of bird song. In: Espmark Y, Amundsen T, Rosenqvist G (eds). Animal signals: signalling and signal design in animal communication. Tapir Academic, Trondheim, Norway, pp 277-300
49. Vehrencamp SL (2001) Is song-type matching a conventional signal of aggressive intentions? Proc R Soc Lond B 268:1637-1642
50. Ward S, Speakman JR, Slater PJB (2003) The energy cost of song in the canary, Serinus canaria. Anim Behav 66:893-902
51. Wells KD, Bard KM (1987) Vocal communication in a neotropical treefrog Hyla ebraccata: responses of females to advertisement and aggressive calls. Behaviour 101:199-210
52. West MJ, King AP, Eastzer DH (1981) Validating the female bioassay of cowbird song: relating differences in song potency to mating success. Anim Behav 29:490-501