Response of territorial male song sparrows to song types and variations

1988 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip K. Stoddard ◽  
Michael D. Beecher ◽  
Mary S. Willis
Keyword(s):  
Territorial Male ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Song Sparrows ◽  
Song Types

Response to multiple song types in male song sparrows and field sparrows

1983 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 948-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Searcy
Keyword(s):  
Male Song ◽  
Song Sparrows ◽  
Song Types

Age, intrusion pressure and defence against floaters by territorial male song sparrows

1987 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 773-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Arcese
Keyword(s):  
Territorial Male ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Song Sparrows

Testing the function of song-matching in birds: responses of eastern male song sparrows Melospiza melodia to partial song-matching

Behaviour ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 145 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Searcy ◽  
Rindy Anderson ◽  
Stephen Nowicki
Keyword(s):  
Average Distance ◽  
Aggressive Response ◽  
Melospiza Melodia ◽  
Song Sparrow ◽  
Song Type ◽  
Eastern Population ◽  
Partial Matching ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Song Sparrows ◽  
Song Types

AbstractSong-matching has been hypothesized to be a signal of aggressive intentions whereby matching an opponent signals that the singer is likely to attack. Theory predicts that an aggressive signal should impose a cost that enforces the signal's reliability. A receiver-dependent cost imposed by the matched bird's aggressive retaliation has been proposed for song-matching. We tested for such a cost for partial song-matching in an eastern population of song sparrows where males lack the shared song types necessary for song type matching, but can perform partial song-matching using shared song segments. We tested aggressive response, as measured by average distance to a playback speaker, to partial-matching songs and non-matching songs. We predicted a stronger aggressive response to partial-matching songs, as has been shown for whole song-matching in western song sparrow populations. The birds in our study responded no differently to partial-matching and non-matching songs. Neither the distance to the playback speaker nor singing responses differed between playback treatments. Our results do not support a receiver-dependent cost to partial song-matching, as would be expected if partial-matching is a direct threat. Instead, we suggest that partial song-matching functions as a signal of attention.

Vocal Mimicry and Interspecific Aggression in Songbirds: Experiments Using White-Crowned Sparrow Imitation of Song Sparrow Song

Behaviour ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 109 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 247-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive K. Catchpole ◽  
Luis F. Baptista
Keyword(s):  
Song Learning ◽  
Song Sparrow ◽  
Territorial Male ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Interspecific Aggression ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Vocal Mimicry ◽  
Song Sparrows ◽  
Competition Hypothesis ◽  
Interspecific Response

AbstractA series of playback experiments was carried out to determine whether territorial male song sparrows could discriminate between their own species song, and the same song produced by a white-crowned sparrow. In two out of three measures of response, the males did not discriminate between model and mimic song. In constrast, most males showed no response to control white-crowned sparrow song, although two individuals showed a strong interspecific response. Other examples of interspecific aggression were also detected during the experiments. The results are discussed in relation to recent studies on interspecific song learning and the competition hypothesis of vocal mimicry in songbirds.

Response of Male Song and Swamp Sparrows To Neighbour, Stranger, and Self Songs

Behaviour ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 152-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick D. McArthur ◽  
Susan S. Peters ◽  
William A. Searcy ◽  
Peter Marler
Keyword(s):  
Melospiza Melodia ◽  
Territorial Male ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Song Sparrows ◽  
Neighbor Recognition ◽  
Single Speaker ◽  
Melospiza Georgiana

AbstractWe examined the responsiveness of territorial male swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) and song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to neighbor, stranger, and self songs. In two speaker tests (with two song bouts played simultaneously from separate speakers), male swamp sparrows failed to discriminate between neighbor and stranger songs and between self and stranger songs. In single speaker presentations, male swamp sparrows responded more aggressively to stranger song than to neighbor song and gave intermediate responses to self song. Male song sparrows showed no significant discrimination between neighbor, stranger, and self songs. We hypothesized that male birds may learn what other conspecific songs should sound like by listening to their own songs. In its most stringent form this hypothesis might predict maximal responsiveness to playback of a male's own song. This prediction was not verified for these two sparrow species. There was less of a difference in responsiveness toward neighbor and stranger songs in song sparrows than in swamp sparrows; this result is compatible with the hypothesis that larger repertoires make neighbor recognition more difficult.

scholarly journals Male song sparrows modulate their aggressive signaling in response to plumage signals: experiments with 3-D printed models

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle L. Beck ◽  
Ҫağlar Akҫay ◽  
Kendra B. Sewall
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Ability ◽  
Competitive Interactions ◽  
Territorial Male ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Fighting Ability ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Song Sparrows ◽  
Meaningful Stimuli

AbstractCompetitive interactions among conspecifics are often resolved by assessing signals that honestly indicate individual fighting ability or dominance. In territorial species, signals of competitive ability are thought to function primarily during the early stages of territory establishment, but recent evidence suggests that these signals continue to influence interactions with floaters and neighbors well after territory establishment. Here, we examine the influence of the extent of chest spotting displayed by an intruding male on the response of territorial male song sparrows. We exposed males to 3-D printed models with large or small spotting area coupled with conspecific playback and recorded their behavior. We also assessed the response of a subset of males to both the 3-D printed models and a traditional, taxidermic mount to ensure the 3-D models were a realistic stimulus. We found no differences in the number of attacks or proximity to the model due to spotting area. However, territorial males produced more soft songs and tended to sing fewer loud songs, both of which predict attack in our population, in response to the model with less chest spotting. One possibility is that males with less chest spotting elicit a stronger response because they are seen as a greater threat. Based on our previous findings in this system, we think it is more likely that models with less chest spotting are perceived as subordinate and therefore easier to defeat, leading to a stronger response by territory holders. We found males were equally likely to attack 3-D printed models and a taxidermic mount but signaled more aggressively during trials with the taxidermic mount than the 3-D printed models. This suggests that birds recognized the 3-D models as meaningful stimuli but that the use of 3-D printed models should be validated through comparison to a traditional taxidermic mount when possible.

Individual Variation in the Strength of Territory Defense in Male Song Sparrows: Correlates of Age, Territory Tenure, and Neighbor Aggressiveness

Behaviour ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 141 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Hyman ◽  
Melissa Hughes ◽  
Stephen Nowicki ◽  
William Searcy
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Territory Defense ◽  
Intrinsic Factors ◽  
Territorial Aggression ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Song Sparrows ◽  
Territory Owner ◽  
Older Males

AbstractIn many species, the ability to defend a territory is essential for a male to obtain any reproductive success at all, and even among territorial individuals, variation in the strength of territory defense could have a significant impact on how much reproductive success is obtained. Previous studies have documented consistent individual differences in the vigor with which male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) defend their territories, as measured by the strength of their reactions to territorial intrusions simulated through song playback. Variation in the strength of defense could reflect intrinsic differences among individuals in their resource holding potential (RHP), or variation in extrinsic factors. In this study, we examined whether variation in the strength of territory defense corresponds to differences in intrinsic factors such as the age or experience of the territory owner, the extrinsic factor of the level of aggression shown by neighbours, or both. Results indicate that males that previously held territories on the study site, regardless of whether they were holding the same territory as the previous year, show higher levels of territory defense than males that are new to the study site, and, assuming that returning males are older males, suggest that age is more important than experience on a specific territory in determining strength of territory defense. In addition, we found evidence that males with high levels of territorial aggression tend to be spatially clustered. The pattern observed suggests that a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors contribute to the expression of individual differences in territorial aggression.

scholarly journals The Duet Code of the Female Black-Bellied Wren

The Condor ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Logue
Keyword(s):  
Animal Communication ◽  
Special Kind ◽  
Song Type ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Female Response ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Vocal Responses ◽  
Vocal Signals ◽  
Behavioral Mechanisms ◽  
Song Types

Abstract In many duet-singing songbirds, paired birds combine their song types nonrandomly to form duet songs. Several different behavioral mechanisms could generate nonrandom song type associations in duets. I tested female Black-bellied Wrens (Thryothorus fasciatoventris) for one such mechanism: adherence to a set of rules linking female response songs to male stimulus songs. I call this set of rules a “duet code.” Duets of free-living Black-bellied Wrens were recorded in 2001 and 2002. In 2003 I returned to the same territories and played the male song types from the recorded duets. Females answered male song stimuli as if duetting with the playback speaker. Although the known repertoires of females averaged 8.4 song types, each female sang only a single song type in response to each male song type. Random answering could not account for this pattern, supporting the hypothesis that females abide by duet codes. Females that were still paired with their mates from 2001–2002 answered 100% of their mate's songs with the same song types they had used previously, demonstrating that codes are stable over time. In contrast, females that were new to a territory answered an average of only 18% of their mate's song types with the same song type as the previous female, indicating that duet codes are individually distinctive. Duet participation by female Black-bellied Wrens represents a special kind of animal communication, in which discrete vocal signals consistently elicit discrete vocal responses according to an individually distinctive set of rules.

Effects of Acute Treatment with 8-OH-DPAT and Fluoxetine on Aggressive Behaviour in Male Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia morphna)

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. Sperry ◽  
C. K. Thompson ◽  
J. C. Wingfield
Keyword(s):  
Aggressive Behaviour ◽  
Acute Treatment ◽  
Melospiza Melodia ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Song Sparrows

Songs of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia): individual variation and dialects

1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret A. Harris ◽  
Robert E. Lemon
Keyword(s):  
Individual Variation ◽  
Melospiza Melodia ◽  
Populated Area ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Relative Occurrence ◽  
Song Sparrows

Male song sparrows from two areas in Quebec had repertoires of several song patterns, each one of which was generally made up of two repeated units, or syllables, plus unrepeated note complexes. Variability between individuals was large, but there was also some similarity: while most syllable types were sung by one individual only, some were shared with others in the population. The relative occurrence of the different syllable types was similar in two sites at Pare Cote Ste. Catherine but between Pare Cote Ste. Catherine and Mont St. Hilaire (separated by 23 mi) there was almost complete lack of similarity, which was taken as evidence that dialects existed. Birds from the less densely populated area at Mont St. Hilaire had slightly smaller repertoires of syllables and song patterns.

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