Guttural Calls of Blue-Fronted Amazons: Structure, Context, and Their Possible Role in Short Range Communication

Fernández‐Juricic, Esteban; Martella, Mónica B.

doi:10.1676/0043-5643(2000)112[0035:gcobfa]2.0.co;2

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, our sample of 75 h of recordings is in the mid-range of that reported by other studies, with lower recording samples of 10 h obtained by Fernández-Juricic and Martella [22] and 30 h by May [26], but larger samples of 100 h reported by Fernández-Juricic et al [24] and 210 h obtained by Zdenek et al [25]. Therefore, sample size of recordings is unlikely to explain the high diversity of note-types found in our study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

“…However, few studies have conducted comprehensive statistical analysis of a suite of acoustic traits to reliably differentiate vocalisations. Of these, guttural calls differed from other vocalisations of the Blue-fronted Amazon ( Amazona aestiva ) in note duration and bandwidth [ 22 ], while five call-types of the North Island Kaka ( Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis ) were differentiated primarily by call length and secondly by maximum frequency [ 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Contextual flexibility in the vocal repertoire of an Amazon parrot

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundUnderstanding the role of avian vocal communication in social organisation requires knowledge of the vocal repertoire used to convey information. Parrots use acoustic signals in a variety of social contexts, but no studies have evaluated cross-functional use of acoustic signals by parrots, or whether these conform to signal design rules for different behavioural contexts. We statistically characterised the vocal repertoire of 61 free-living Lilac-crowned Amazons (Amazona finschi) in nine behavioural contexts (nesting, threat, alarm, foraging, perched, take-off, flight, landing, and food soliciting). We aimed to determine whether parrots demonstrated contextual flexibility in their vocal repertoire, and whether these acoustic signals follow design rules that could maximise communication.ResultsThe Lilac-crowned Amazon had a diverse vocal repertoire of 101 note-types emitted at least twice, 58 of which were emitted ≥5 times. Threat and nesting contexts had the greatest variety and proportion of exclusive note-types, although the most common note-types were emitted in all behavioural contexts but with differing proportional contribution. Behavioural context significantly explained variation in acoustic features, where threat and nesting contexts had the highest mean frequencies and broad bandwidths, and alarm signals had a high emission rate of 3.6 notes/s. Three Principal Components explained 72.03 % of the variation in temporal and spectral characteristics of notes. Permutated Discriminant Function Analysis using these Principal Components demonstrated that 28 note-types (emitted by >1 individual) could be correctly classified and significantly discriminated from a random model.ConclusionsAcoustic features of Lilac-crowned Amazon vocalisations in specific behavioural contexts conformed to signal design rules. Lilac-crowned Amazons modified the emission rate and proportional contribution of note-types used in each context, suggesting the use of graded and combinatorial variation to encode information. We propose that evaluation of vocal repertoires based on note-types would reflect the true extent of a species’ vocal flexibility, and the potential for combinatorial structures in parrot acoustic signals.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12983-016-0169-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextual flexibility in the vocal repertoire of an Amazon parrot

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As a final example, and one most relevant to the signaler‐based focus of our present study, vocal signals may simply be produced by an individual in the context of movement from one place to another. These more general ‘movement’ calls have been described in a wide range of species (birds: Chaves‐Campos ; Fernández‐Juricic & Martella ; cetaceans: Jensen et al. ; primates: Stewart & Harcourt ; Trillmich et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Variation in Note Composition ofChick‐a‐deeCalls is Associated with Signaler Flight in Carolina Chickadees,Poecile carolinensis

Freeberg

Mahurin

2013

Ethology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chick‐a‐dee calls are used in a wide range of social contexts in Poecile (chickadee) species. These calls comprise a number of distinct note types. Earlier naturalistic observational studies suggested that the ‘C’ note type was used frequently in calls of Carolina chickadees (P. carolinensis) in the context of flight. We conducted three field studies with Carolina chickadees to test in more experimentally manipulative ways whether Chick‐a‐dee calls with more ‘C’ notes were associated with flight. The three studies differed in how they elicited flight behavior from chickadees, as well as in the likely arousal levels experienced by the birds. First, we captured chickadees and released them, recording any calls they produced in flight or when later perched after escape. Second, we approached chickadees that were foraging near the ground in field settings and recorded any calls they produced when perched compared to when they were in flight. Third, from a distant blind, we recorded chickadees flying to and from feeding stations, in which the closest perching substrate/cover was at least 2 m away from the feeding station, thus requiring flight. In all three studies, calls contained more ‘C’ notes when birds were in flight compared to when they were perched. This work expands our understanding of variation in note composition of chick‐a‐dee calls beyond the contexts of food and predator detection to the context of movement. Studies are now needed to test whether such variation in chick‐a‐dee calls brings about group cohesion.

show abstract

“…Within a closedistance communication framework, the sender is expected to modify his song to convey specific information or motivations (Morton 1977). Additionally, within this close-range context, the fine structure of the vocalization is not necessarily under selective pressure to propagate over far distances (Wiley & Richards 1978;Richards & Wiley 1980) and is therefore expected to show higher structural variability than long-range vocalizations (Marler 1967;Morton 1982;Fernandez-Juricic & Martella 2000). Compared with their long-range counterparts, close-range vocalizations may be under less selective pressure to have a large active space and may therefore be of lower amplitude than songs or calls that are broadcast over a large area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, there are some reports that low-amplitude songs may serve a dual function in both aggressive and courtship interactions (Dabelsteen et al 1998;Balsby 2000;Reichard et al 2013). Additionally, many group-living species often have close-distance, low-amplitude contact calls that potentially serve as a means of maintaining group cohesion (Fernandez-Juricic & Martella 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Watch Your Tone: Social Conditions Modulate Singing Strategies

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bird song is typically depicted as a male singing a long‐distance signal to potentially unknown receivers to (1) deter males and (2) attract females. Nevertheless, many songbirds sing from close distances to a known receiver; males of these species may be under more intense selective pressure to modify their songs depending on the sex of the receiver in order to convey different motivational states (aggression versus courtship) to the different sexes. In a laboratory setting, we examined how receiver sex affected within‐song variation of the close‐range singing behavior in the brown‐headed cowbird (Molothrus ater). Although we know that cowbird song is influenced by flock composition, it is still unclear as to how the cowbird modifies his song based on social context. Using a cross‐correlation analysis of each male's different song types, we found that pairs of songs were significantly more dissimilar if they were directed to females compared with songs directed to males. We subsequently tested whether there were any consistent spectral or temporal patterns in the songs males gave to females versus to males. Our results lend support for the Motivational Structural Rules Hypothesis as songs directed toward males had higher entropy (i.e., harshness) than the same song type directed toward females. Our results suggest that cowbirds may have evolved the ability to alter multiple dimensions of their singing behavior based on receiver sex.

show abstract

Guttural Calls of Blue-Fronted Amazons: Structure, Context, and Their Possible Role in Short Range Communication

Cited by 11 publications

References 27 publications

Contextual flexibility in the vocal repertoire of an Amazon parrot

Contextual flexibility in the vocal repertoire of an Amazon parrot

Variation in Note Composition ofChick‐a‐deeCalls is Associated with Signaler Flight in Carolina Chickadees,Poecile carolinensis

Watch Your Tone: Social Conditions Modulate Singing Strategies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About