Is the Signal Value of Overlapping Different from That of Alternating during Matched Singing in Great Tits?

Dabelsteen, Torben; McGregor, Peter K.; Shepherd, Michael; Whittaker, X.; Pedersen, S.

doi:10.2307/3677221

Cited by 63 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Especially, we want to point out that some earlier studies also contradict the common opinion that overlapping singing has a higher threat signal value, which generates a stronger response in the sense of eliciting more songs or flights. Dabelsteen et al (1996) in experiments with great tits found that only males reply to overlapping playback with significantly greater variation of response measures. Yellowhammers respond with similar strength to both alternating and overlapping stimuli (Osiejuk et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Corn bunting (Miliaria calandra) males respond differently to alternating and overlapping playback of song

Osiejuk

Ratyńska

Cygan

2006

J Ethol

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Interactive playback experiments were used to study the signal value to the corn bunting, Miliaria calandra, of alternating and overlapping singing. We subjected 15 males to two stimuli that differed in the temporal pattern of song playback (alternating or overlapping). We measured eight characteristics of the males' response in two categories-song output and movements. Overlapping and alternating playback elicited a similar song response, characteristic of highly aroused males. Song response correlated positively with males' singing activity before playback, irrespective of stimulus. There were significant differences between latency of approach to the loudspeaker and number of flights. Birds approached the loudspeaker more quickly and spent more time close to it when playback alternated with their songs. The results suggest overlapping song could be interpreted as a stronger threat but elicits a more cautious, rather than stronger, response than the alternating pattern. Males were found to shorten songs during the playback compared with songs sung before and after stimulation. The only predictor of degree of song shortening was song activity before the playback began. It should, therefore, be regarded as a signal which is related to escalated, close-distance counter-singing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Corn bunting (Miliaria calandra) males respond differently to alternating and overlapping playback of song

Osiejuk

Ratyńska

Cygan

2006

J Ethol

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“…An individual might apply different response strategies depending on the context, for example the perceived threat, although each individual may predominantly use one strategy (e.g. Dabelsteen and McGregor 1996). Recent evidence for individual differences in response has started to accumulate (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…This might indicate a strategy to overlap the intruder's song by simultaneously avoiding to be overlapped in return as song stops shortly after the overlapped strophe (e.g. Dabelsteen et al 1996). The rather unexpected direction of difference between high and low quality males in response to the simulated intruder could be explained by the fact that all males faced a similar average male as intruder which meant that the relative quality differences between subject and playback were different and could have affected a male's response.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dawn song of male blue tits as a predictor of competitiveness in midmorning singing interactions

2004

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During the dawn chorus, territorial male songbirds vocalise intensively within signalling range of several conspecific males and can therefore be considered members of a busy communication network. The more or less continuous singing over a long period of time under standardised stimulus conditions makes the dawn song a potentially important information source both for simple receivers and for eavesdroppers. Male blue tits (Parus caeruleus) vary in features of their dawn song, e.g. older males sing longer strophes, and females choose males that sing longer strophes as extra-pair partners. However, so far, dawn song in the blue tit has been investigated separately from other singing behaviour of the same males. In this study, we investigate aspects of blue tit male quality, reflected in dawn song characteristics, and their predictive value for how males behave during singing interactions later in the morning. We acted as simple receivers by recording the singing activity of one male at a time at dawn and compared features of its dawn song, such as onset before sunrise, repertoire size, mean bout length, strophe length and percentage performance time to responses of the same male to a territory intrusion simulated by playback of synthesised songs later during the same morning. We assume that an aggressive response towards an intruder will involve a fast approach to the loudspeaker broadcasting strophes of blue tit song, searching for the intruder (flying around), and a high amount of counter singing and overlapping of the intruder's songs. Aspects of vigour of response to the simulated intrusion could be predicted from all five investigated dawn song parameters as well as male age. This is, to our knowledge, the first indication that a simple receiver could extract reliable information from a male's dawn singing behaviour about its competitiveness later in the day.

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“…Such asymmetries in the timing of their songs are thought to re£ect di¡erences in social state and status (Hultsch & Todt 1982). Furthermore, studies in other species on timing of songs during vocal interactions have shown that di¡erence in the timing of songs is functionally important (Todt 1981;Kramer & Lemon 1983;Popp 1989;Brindley 1991;Nielsen & Vehrencamp 1995;Dabelsteen et al 1996Dabelsteen et al , 1997. Song overlapping, for instance, in many cases is used and perceived as an agonistic signal (Todt & Naguib 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nightingales respond more strongly to vocal leaders of simulated dyadic interactions

Naguib

Fichtel

Todt

1999

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Although vocal interactions in songbirds have been well studied, little is known about the extent to which birds attend to their conspeci¢cs' interactions. Attending to others' interactions can provide valuable information since vocal interactions are often asymmetrical and can re£ect di¡erences in the state or quality of the signallers. Playback experiments with simulated dyadic interactions showed that male territorial nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) attend to asymmetries in interactions and respond more strongly to rivals that overlap the songs of their counterpart. In order to test if nightingales respond di¡erently to two interacting rivals that are alternating songs asymmetrically (with leader^follower roles), we simulated an interaction using a dual-speaker design. Subjects discriminated between the simulated singing strategies and responded more intensely at the loudspeaker playing the preceding songs. This suggests that individuals whose songs precede in an interaction when there is no acoustic overlap are perceived as more serious rivals. Intense responses to the preceding songs compared with intense responses to the overlapping (non-preceding) songs in a previous study also indicate that discrimination is not the result of one speci¢c proximate cue such as greater attention to the ¢rst-or last-heard stimulus. Thus, these results provide further evidence that by listening to asymmetries in conspeci¢cs' vocal interactions, receivers can obtain valuable information on their relative di¡erences.

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Is the Signal Value of Overlapping Different from That of Alternating during Matched Singing in Great Tits?

Cited by 63 publications

References 11 publications

Corn bunting (Miliaria calandra) males respond differently to alternating and overlapping playback of song

Corn bunting (Miliaria calandra) males respond differently to alternating and overlapping playback of song

Dawn song of male blue tits as a predictor of competitiveness in midmorning singing interactions

Nightingales respond more strongly to vocal leaders of simulated dyadic interactions

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