Monogamy and brood parasitism: an unlikely pair

Yokel, David A.

doi:10.1016/s0003-3472(86)80206-8

Cited by 56 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Females return from wintering to the breeding ranges later than males and they hear and interact with males from other local dialects, at least at the beginning of the breeding season (Yokel 1986a). Thus, females in this study were likely to have had contact with males from more than one dialect.…”

Section: Female Song Preferences and Dialectsmentioning

confidence: 93%

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Culturally correct song dialects are correlated with male age and female song preferences in wild populations of brown-headed cowbirds

O'Loghlen

Rothstein

1995

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

104

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Variation in vocal behavior among local populations of songbirds may be significant to females in mate choice. In a study of dialect populations of brownheaded cowbirds, estradiol-implanted females from two dialects held the pre-copulatory lordosis posture longer in response to playback of the local flight whistle song than to foreign whistle types from adjacent and more distant dialects. Females were held in captivity for a relatively brief period prior to testing and received no tutoring so discrimination was based solely on experience in the wild. This is the first study to show evidence of discrimination by female cowbirds based on flight whistle type. Evidence is presented from one of the study dialects that the majority of yearling male cowbirds are vocally distinct from resident adults in having either foreign or incomplete local whistles. Although these yearlings are fully mature sexually, they have little or no mating success. The correlation between female whistle preference and male mating success suggests that the ability to give the correct local whistle type may be a characteristic used by females to assess age and quality of a potential mate. A learned female preference for the predominant local song type may be a factor in the stability of these dialects by making it adaptive for males to conform to the local dialect.

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Section: Female Song Preferences and Dialectsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…artemisiae) where monogamy has been observed to be the prevalent mating system (Yokel 1986a). Although the monogamy is in part due to mate guarding and intrasexual competition among males (as in West et al 1981;Dufty 1986), female choice is also important.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culturally correct song dialects are correlated with male age and female song preferences in wild populations of brown-headed cowbirds

O'Loghlen

Rothstein

1995

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

104

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…We conducted a removal experiment during the latter half of the 1985 season. First, we determined the mated status of all residents in the study population (Yokel 1986a(Yokel , 1987. Because male breeding ranges occurred only in the riparian corridor, they were in a roughly linear but overlapping pattern.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If a primary consort could reduce the harassment that a female received from other (Yokel 1986a) was an unbanded female. Her breeding range overlapped with that of a second unbanded female, causing identity problems, so she was not included here males, he would actively provide her a service.…”

Section: Courtship As Harassmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When feeding, there are many cowbirds present and vigilant (Rothstein et al 1980(Rothstein et al , 1984, so a female need not rely on a single male for warning. In the breeding habitat, males frequently leave their females unattended (Rothstein et al 1984(Rothstein et al , 1986Yokel 1986a). There is no indication of aid to females via vigilance against predation.…”

Section: Female Choice and Active Male Investmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The basis for female choice in an avian brood parasite

Yokel

Rothstein

1991

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Sex and seasonal differences in neurogenesis and volume of the song‐control system are associated with song in brood‐parasitic and non‐brood‐parasitic icterid songbirds

Guigueno

Sherry

MacDougall‐Shackleton

2016

Developmental Neurobiology

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The song-control system in the brain of songbirds is important for the production and acquisition of song and exhibits both remarkable seasonal plasticity and some of the largest neural sex differences observed in vertebrates. We measured sex and seasonal differences in two nuclei of the song-control system of brood-parasitic brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) and closely-related non-parasitic red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus). These species differ in both the development and function of song. Brown-headed cowbirds have a larger sex difference in song than red-winged blackbirds. Female cowbirds never sing, whereas female blackbirds do though much less than males. In cowbirds, song primarily functions in mate choice and males modify their song as they approach sexual maturity and interact with females. In red-winged blackbirds, song is used primarily in territorial defence and is crystalized earlier in life. We found that the HVC was more likely to be discernable in breeding female blackbirds than in breeding female cowbirds. Compared to males, females had a smaller HVC and a smaller robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA). However, females had higher doublecortin immunoreactivity (DCX+) in HVC, a measure of neurogenesis. Consistent with sex differences in song, the sex difference in RA volume was greater in cowbirds than in blackbirds. Males of both species had a smaller HVC with higher DCX+ in post-breeding condition than in breeding condition when song is more plastic. Sex and seasonal differences in the song-control system were closely related to variation in song in these two icterid songbirds. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 76: 1226-1240, 2016.

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Monogamy and brood parasitism: an unlikely pair

Cited by 56 publications

References 25 publications

Culturally correct song dialects are correlated with male age and female song preferences in wild populations of brown-headed cowbirds

Culturally correct song dialects are correlated with male age and female song preferences in wild populations of brown-headed cowbirds

The basis for female choice in an avian brood parasite

Sex and seasonal differences in neurogenesis and volume of the song‐control system are associated with song in brood‐parasitic and non‐brood‐parasitic icterid songbirds

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