Seasonal song variation in male Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus)

Abstract Most birds that show geographic variation in their songs discriminate between local and foreign songs, which may help them avoid unnecessary conflicts with vagrant individuals or similar-sounding congeners. However, some species respond equally to foreign and local songs, which may be useful if foreign individuals present territorial threats or if there are no sympatric congeners to avoid. Species without sympatric congeners are not commonly tested in playback studies, but they offer an opportunity to see how song variation and recognition unfolds when the pressure to avoid similar congeners is absent. Here, we use Verdins (Auriparus flaviceps), a monotypic genus of songbird with no confamilials in North America, to explore song variation and recognition in a species living without close relatives. We assessed geographic variation in song across the Verdin range and conducted a playback experiment using exemplars from 2 acoustically divergent and geographically distant regions as treatments. We found significant geographic variation in song that mapped well onto ecologically distinct desert regions. We found that Verdins had stronger vocal responses to local-sounding songs, but had equal movement responses to local-sounding and foreign songs. These results are similar to results found in other species without sympatric congeners and provide an example of a species that investigates acoustically divergent conspecific songs, despite recognizing salient differences in those songs.

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GEOGRAPHIC SONG VARIATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN THE GOLDEN BOWERBIRD

The Condor ◽

10.1650/0010-5422(2002)104[0750:gsvaic]2.0.co;2 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 104 (4) ◽

pp. 750 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

David A. Westcott ◽

Frederieke J. Kroon

Keyword(s):

Song Variation

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Geographic isolation drives divergence of uncorrelated genetic and song variation in the Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush ( Catharus frantzii ; Aves: Turdidae)

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution ◽

10.1016/j.ympev.2015.08.017 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 94 ◽

pp. 74-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Marco F. Ortiz-Ramírez ◽

Michael J. Andersen ◽

Alejandro Zaldívar-Riverón ◽

Juan Francisco Ornelas ◽

Adolfo G. Navarro-Sigüenza

Keyword(s):

Geographic Isolation ◽

Song Variation

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Song Variation and Persistence of Song Neighborhoods in a Lekking Hummingbird

The Condor ◽

10.1525/cond.2009.090029 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 111 (4) ◽

pp. 633-640 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Clementina González ◽

Juan Francisco Ornelas

Keyword(s):

Song Variation

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Predator recognition and nest defence by Carolina Wrens Thryothorus ludovicianus in urban and rural environments: does experience matter?

Bird Study ◽

10.1080/00063657.2017.1316235 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 64 (2) ◽

pp. 211-221 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ashley L. Bogrand ◽

Diane L. H. Neudorf ◽

Philip Matich

Keyword(s):

Predator Recognition ◽

Nest Defence ◽

Rural Environments ◽

Thryothorus Ludovicianus

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Geographic patterns of song variation in four species of Malurus fairy-wrens

Journal of Avian Biology ◽

10.1111/jav.01446 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (2) ◽

pp. jav-01446 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

David D. Yandell ◽

Wesley M. Hochachka ◽

Stephen Pruett-Jones ◽

Michael S. Webster ◽

Emma I. Greig

Keyword(s):

Song Variation ◽

Geographic Patterns

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Song Structure and Microgeographic Song Variation in Wedge-Tailed Sabrewings (Campylopterus Curvipennis) in Veracruz, Mexico

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/122.2.593 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 122 (2) ◽

pp. 593-607 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Clementina González ◽

Juan Francisco Ornelas

Keyword(s):

Geographic Region ◽

Arithmetic Mean ◽

Floral Resources ◽

Group Method ◽

Complex Signals ◽

Document Structure ◽

Song Variation ◽

Pair Group ◽

Well Differentiated ◽

Acoustic Variation

AbstractWe studied the songs of Wedge-tailed Sabrewings (Campylopterus curvipennis) in six localities from central Veracruz, Mexico, to document structure and variation within and between singing groups in the same geographic region. Wedgetailed Sabrewing songs were acoustically, structurally, and behaviorally complex, rivaling those of other taxa with complex signals. Songs of individual birds were composed of >45 well-differentiated and structurally complex syllables. We found 239 different syllable types across eight recorded singing groups of Wedge-tailed Sabrewings (∼20 syllable types per singing group), with the greatest versatility recorded in hummingbirds to date. The acoustic variation (15 variables) was summarized in three principal components (58% of acoustic variation), in which intragroup variability accounted for most of the observed variation. We found significant differences between and within groups in terms of syllable sharing (Jaccard’s similarity coefficient). Individuals generally shared >50% of syllable types within groups, whereas syllable sharing was <10% between individuals from different groups. The same microgeographic pattern was supported in a UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean) analysis where individual songs from each singing group clustered separately. However, songs recorded at the same location differed between seasons, which suggests that this species does not exhibit geographically distinct dialects that are consistent across time. The interplay among this species’ social system, distribution of its floral resources, and microgeographic and temporal variation of its song requires further research.

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