Female Prothonotary Warblers Protonotaria citrea sing during the mate acquisition period

Abstract

Female song in passerine birds may be more common than traditionally assumed, but it is not well‐documented or understood, especially in migratory species. We describe the first evidence of sex‐specific songs produced by female Prothonotary Warblers, as well as the results of playback trials aimed at exploring the adaptive function (if any) of this female‐specific vocalization. Based on the behaviour of three females and our playback trials, we suggest that these unique songs are related to mate acquisition during the early stages of courtship.

A call to document female bird songs: Applications for diverse fields

“…Furthermore, in 42% of passerine species (Passeriformes) found in the United States and Canada and in 43% of European songbirds (Passeri), females have been reported to have some amount of song (Benedict 2008, Garamszegi et al 2007, Rodewald 2017. These numbers continue to grow as researchers watch closely for this behavior (e.g., Hahn et al 2013, Campbell et al 2016, Matthews et al 2017. Also, many female nonpasserine species use complex vocal signals during breeding and in other contexts, suggesting FIGURE 1.…”

“…Avian researchers regularly collect in-depth data about bird populations, and thereby create ideal opportunities to detect female song. Several recent field studies of female song have come from research groups that were not specifically studying communication behavior, but when they took the time to closely observe their study populations, they discovered that the females sang or had other female-specific vocalizations (Hahn et al 2013, Matthews et al 2017, K. Omland, J. Cooper, and R. Lachlan personal communication). Furthermore, we encourage researchers with captive birds to carefully monitor the vocalizations of known males and females as this can also lead to discoveries of sex-specific vocalizations, even in well-studied species (Baptista et al 1993, Elie et al 2010, Amy et al 2015.…”

Female dark‐eyed juncos Junco hyemalis thurberi produce male‐like song in a territorial context during the early breeding season

“…The seasonal timing of these observations coincides with the highest levels of circulating testosterone in female juncos (Ketterson et al 2005, Jawor et al 2007), which suggests a potential role for testosterone in promoting female song. This link between high testosterone levels, prenesting behavior, and female song has also been identified in other temperate species where female song is thought to be relatively rare (Arcese et al 1988, Hobson and Sealy 1990, Baptista et al 1993, Matthews et al 2017.…”

“…Thus, females appear to sing more often in conditions involving long-term territoriality and high competition for mates and resources, which would favor songs that serve a function in aggression and defense. Temperate breeding species often lack many of these life history traits, and as a result, female song appears to be less conspicuous and restricted to life history stages that include elevated aggression such as the pre-nesting period of territory and pair bond establishment (Arcese et al 1988, Baptista et al 1993, Matthews et al 2017. The pre-nesting life history stage also coincides with peak levels of circulating androgens in many temperate species (Wingfield et al 1990, Ketterson et al 2005, and elevated androgen levels can act as an important proximate signal underlying song production in both males and females (Dloniak and Deviche 2001, Langmore et al 2002, Alward et al 2017).…”

Je spev jariabka hôrneho (Tetrastes bonasia) doménou samcov?

“…Aj samice niektorých druhov mierneho pásma môžu spievať, naviac intenzita ich spevu súvisí s výškou hladiny testosterónu v predhniezdnom období podobne, ako je to u samcov (Dittrich et al 2014). Napriek tomu sa spev samíc druhov mierneho pásma považuje za zriedkavejší (Hobson & Sealy 1990, Baptista et al 1993, Matthews et al 2016. Viaceré práce poukazujú na to, že samice niektorých druhov spievajú z podobných dôvodov ako samce.…”