Individualgeschichte und Gesangsausprägung beim Star (Sturnus vulgaris) in einer Kolonie

Adret-Hausberger, Martine; Güttinger, Hans Rudolf; Merkel, Friedrich

doi:10.1007/bf01649750

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There is some evidence that starlings continue to learn new song phrases beyond the first year of life (Feare 1984;Adret-Hausberger et al 1989) and age may therefore be the aspect of male quality that is conveyed by song complexity. The age of the singer may also be important information for a female choosing a mate (Manning 1985) but unfortunately too few females entered nest-boxes to determine whether they showed any preference for complex song.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Song as an attractant for male and female European starlings, and the influence of song complexity on their response

Mountjoy

Lemon

1991

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We tested the hypothesis that song attracts females and repels males in the European starling. We broadcast recorded song from speakers attached to nestboxes, while paired boxes with silent speakers served as controls. As predicted, females were attracted to the 'song' boxes. Contrary to prediction, males were also attracted to the 'song' boxes. Singing by male starlings may be costly because it attracts competitors for limited nesting sites, but the cost cannot be avoided due to the need to attract a mate. In a second experiment 'simple' song (composed of 20 different phrase types) and ' complex' song (40 phrase types) were played simultaneously. More males were captured at boxes where 'simple' song was played. Song complexity may function as an indicator of male quality and be used by male starlings to assess potential competitors.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%