Experimental study of alarm calls of the oriental tit (Parus minor) toward different predators and reactions they induce in nestlings

Abstract

Anti‐predatory strategies of birds are diverse and may include predator‐specific alarm calls. For example, oriental tit (Parus minor) parents can distinguish snakes from other predators and produce snake‐specific referential vocalizations ("jar" call) when a snake poses a threat to their nest. The “jar” call has a very specific function to induce fledging of nestlings close to fledging age. This reaction ensures nestlings' survival in natural encounters with snakes that are capable of entering nest cavities and kill entire broods. Sciurid rodents, like chipmunks, may pose a similar threat to cavity‐nesting birds. We explored the hypothesis that parents use the fledging‐inducing alarm vocalizations in this situation, because chipmunks, like snakes, can kill the brood upon entering the nest cavity. We compared alarm calls of parents toward two predators (chipmunk and snake) who pose a similar threat to the nestlings in a nest cavity, and toward an avian predator (Eurasian jay) who cannot enter nest cavities and poses no threat to the nestlings in a nest. Our results show that the vocal responses of oriental tits were different among the three predators. This suggests that the acoustic properties of vocal responses to predators are different between predators of a similar hunting strategy (nest‐cavity entering). The playback of recorded vocal responses of parents to chipmunks did not trigger the fledging of old nestlings, whereas the vocalizations toward a snake did, as shown by earlier studies. Our study suggests that the vocal response of parents does not carry information about the ability of predators to enter the nest cavity and confirms the special status of alarm calls triggered by snakes.

Animal linguistics: Exploring referentiality and compositionality in bird calls

“…Predator composition may also be an important factor driving the evolution of avian vocal repertoire. In Asia and southern Europe, there are several species of snakes that depredate on birds (Ha et al, 2020; Sorace et al, 2000), whereas in northern Europe, most snake species are unable to climb trees and therefore do not represent a threat to birds. Consequently, snake‐specific alarm calls may not have evolved in northern Europe.…”

Overlooked evidence for semantic compositionality and signal reduction in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

“…Research has thus far demonstrated that some wild birds' and primates' vocalizations can be characterized as having a lexical or word-like character, in the sense that they denote concepts (e.g., predators in alarm calls or foods in food calls) similarly to how words in human languages denote (i.e., mean, map to) certain concepts (Gill and Bierema 2013;Macedonia and Evans 1993;Townsend and Manser 2013;Zuberbühler 2009). This has been reported for different taxa, including, for example, chickens (Gallus; Evans et al 1993;Karakashian et al 1988), trumpeters (Psophia; Seddon et al 2002), tits (Paridae; Ha et al 2020;Haftorn 2000;Suzuki 2011Suzuki , 2012Suzuki , 2014Suzuki , 2015Suzuki , 2016aSuzuki , b, 2018Suzuki , 2019Suzuki , 2020Suzuki , 2021, titi monkeys (Callicebinae; Cäsar et al 2012;Schlenker et al 2017), capuchins (Cebinae;Digweed et al 2005), macaques (Macaca; Brumm et al 2004), Chlorocebi (including vervets and green monkeys; Cheney and Seyfarth 1990;Fischer 2020;Lyn and Christopher 2020;Seyfarth et al 1980a, b;Snowdon 2020;Struhsaker 1967), guenons (Cercopithecus;Arnold et al , 2010Arnold and Zuberbühler 2006b;Zuberbühler et al 1999), and chimpanzees (Pan; Clay and Zuberbühler 2009;Crockford and Boesch 2003;Slocombe and Zuberbühler 2005;…”

Mobbing in animals: A thorough review and proposed future directions

“…We describe each of them below. Several metrics are frequently used when examining mob calls, including the number of individuals calling, (Arnold, 2000;Coomes, McIvor, & Thornton, 2019;Królikowska, Szymkowiak, Laidlaw, & Kuczyński, 2016), call type (Carlson, Healy, & Templeton, 2017b;Suzuki, 2014) call rate, (Bartmess-LeVasseur, Branch, Browning, Owens, & Freeberg, 2010;Coppinger, Kania, Lucas, Sieving, & Freeberg, 2020;Cross & Rogers, 2006), and detailed acoustic measurements (Carlson, Greene, & Templeton, 2020;Courter, Perruci, McGinnis, & Rainieri, 2020;Furrer & Manser, 2009;Ha et al, 2020;Kalb & Randler, 2019;Manser et al, 2014).…”