Interactive playback experiments were used to study the signal value of alternating and overlapping singing in the Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella. We carried out interactive playback experiments in which 13 males were subjects of two treatments that differed in temporal pattern of playback song delivery (alternating vs overlapping). We measured 12 parameters of males' response, belonging to three categories: song output, call output and mobility (distance from loudspeaker and flights). The results do not confirm the hypothesis that the overlapping pattern is a signal of stronger threat, as compared to the alternating pattern. Overlapping and alternating playbacks generally elicited a similar response, characteristic for highly aroused males. The only significant difference found concerned latency of approach to the loudspeaker during the playback stage. When playback alternated with songs of males, the birds gained higher scores on the axis of that response measure.Such a result was linked to differences in how the alternating and overlapping playbacks affect detection and localisation of simulated rivals, rather than to the signal's threat value 1 itself. The strong response of Yellowhammer males is consistent with the high intrusion rate and possibility of extra-pair copulation in this species, which probably simplifies close-range communication towards more aggressive and unequivocal repelling of rivals irrespective of the temporal patterning of song.
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.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.