Individual recognition of neighbors by song in a suboscine bird, the alder flycatcher Empidonax alnorum

Lovell, Scott F.; Lein, M. Ross

doi:10.1007/s00265-004-0884-4

Cited by 40 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In birds, vocal communication is very important in territorial interactions (Catchpole and Slater 2008). Changes in the number of trills and whistles (Sprau et al 2010), number of calls and songs (Lovell and Lein 2005;Hyman less aggressive motivation of the sender. The broadcast call of the Corncrake is simple because there is no repertoire variation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neighbour–stranger call discrimination in a nocturnal rail species, the Corncrake Crex crex

Budka

Osiejuk

2013

J Ornithol

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The acoustic signals of birds are commonly used for individual recognition. Calls or songs allow discrimination between parent and offspring, between mates and between territorial neighbours and strangers. In this study, we investigated vocal neighbour-stranger discrimination in a nocturnally calling rail species, the Corncrake, Crex crex. We conducted interactive playback experiments with 43 males. All males were tested twice on the same night, and their responses to the calls of a familiar neighbour and the calls of an unfamiliar stranger were measured. The Corncrake males responded more aggressively to the playback of a stranger's calls. They approached the speaker more rapidly, spent more time close to the speaker and physically attacked the speaker more frequently. We found no significant differences between the vocal responses to the playback of neighbours' and strangers' calls. Thus, although calling plays an important role in Corncrake territorial interactions, it is only a first line of defence in which males signal aggression towards intruders by calling, similar to singing in passerines. The lack of differences in vocal responses and the presence of clear differences in other behavioural responses demonstrate that the absence of a differential vocal response does not imply the absence of discrimination. Although the individual nature of the Corncrake call has been mentioned in a few previous studies, this study provides the first experimental evidence that Corncrake males indeed use calls for neighbour-stranger discrimination.Notably, because of the Corncrake's dense wet meadow habitat and its tendency to signal at night, it is probable that acoustic individual discrimination in the Corncrake is crucial for making correct decisions during aggressive encounters with rivals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neighbour–stranger call discrimination in a nocturnal rail species, the Corncrake Crex crex

Budka

Osiejuk

2013

J Ornithol

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“…There is also good evidence for vocal recognition of neighbours, especially in birds (e.g. McComb et al 1993;Lambrechts & Dhondt 1995;Lovell & Lein 2005). However, most studies have been conducted with species where the group size and number of neighbours are small and stable over time (Falls 1982;Lambrechts & Dhondt 1995;Stoddard 1996).…”

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confidence: 99%

Vocal, gestural and locomotor responses of wild chimpanzees to familiar and unfamiliar intruders: a playback study

et al. 2009

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Wild chimpanzees can be dangerously violent against individuals that do not belong to their community, indicating a strong selection pressure on decision-making abilities in this context. The presence of a neighbouring male indicates a serious threat, although encountering an unfamiliar male is potentially even more dangerous because it indicates the arrival of a new group with whom the subjects have no previous history of interaction. We conducted playback experiments with members of three chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes verus, communities in the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, in which we simulated the unexpected presence of another chimpanzee. We tested subjects' responses to pant hoots of familiar group members, neighbouring individuals and unfamiliar strangers. We found that neighbours and strangers elicited a wider range of gestural signals than familiar group members. Vocal responses were common in all conditions. Familiar group members mainly triggered pant hoot replies, whereas neighbour and stranger trials caused screams. Across conditions, males responded more strongly than females. Male party size had an effect on subjects' vocal responses to strangers but not to neighbours, although neighbours were approached more closely. Our results show that chimpanzees are able to identify different classes of individuals by their pant hoot vocalizations, as judged by their differential responses to the calls of familiar group members, neighbours or strangers. The overall response patterns suggest that chimpanzees are aware of the different social consequences associated with encountering a neighbouring group or a group of strangers.

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“…For example, solitary kangaroo rats (Dipodomys ingens) accept neighboring individuals as mates (Lovell and Lein 2005;Ralls 1971;Randall et al 2002). Neighbor recognition has been seen both within and between species, and in some species neighboring groups contain closely related animals (Barash 1974;Ralls et al 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Role of kinship in the formation of southern flying squirrel winter aggregations

Thorington

Weigl

2011

Journal of Mammalogy

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Individual recognition of neighbors by song in a suboscine bird, the alder flycatcher Empidonax alnorum

Cited by 40 publications

References 39 publications

Neighbour–stranger call discrimination in a nocturnal rail species, the Corncrake Crex crex

Neighbour–stranger call discrimination in a nocturnal rail species, the Corncrake Crex crex

Vocal, gestural and locomotor responses of wild chimpanzees to familiar and unfamiliar intruders: a playback study

Role of kinship in the formation of southern flying squirrel winter aggregations

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