Song Perch Height in Rufous‐and‐White Wrens: Does Behaviour Enhance Effective Communication in a Tropical Forest?

Abstract

Animal signals are distorted as they transmit through the environment, but many species have evolved strategies to minimize distortion of vocal signals. Song structure can change over evolutionary time, or signallers can modify their behaviour, to reduce attenuation and degradation in a specific habitat. We investigated signalling behaviour in rufous‐and‐white wrens, Thyothorus rufalbus, a Neotropical songbird in which both sexes sing, with a specific focus on perch height. Based on previous findings, including a detailed sound transmission study, we predicted that rufous‐and‐white wrens would choose elevated song perches in order to maximize the distance their songs travel, and that males and females would show different perch height choices. We observed 30 birds in 18 territories in a tropical forest in Costa Rica to determine the perch heights of birds when singing, producing non‐song vocalizations, collecting nesting material, foraging, and engaging in other behaviours. We found that both activity and sex influenced perch height. Birds sang from a variety of heights, but the highest perches were used as song posts by males. Males minimized singing from within 1 m of the ground, and they generally perched higher than females, which may reflect sex differences in communication strategies. Both sexes foraged on or near the ground. The finding that rufous‐and‐white wrens vary their perch height with specific activities suggests that they modify their singing behaviour to enhance long‐distance communication.

Display Behavior and Habitat Use in Single and Mixed Populations of Anolis carolinensis and Anolis sagrei Lizards

“…Animals may display for several reasons, including advertisement of territory ownership, mate attraction, and to deter predators (MacDonald et al 2007). In many species, display behavior is explicitly tied to habitat use, as individuals may select particular perches or other areas for display to enhance signal propagation (Baker 2001;Barker & Mennill 2009). If habitat availability is altered by the presence of an invasive species, then this may have a secondary effect of altering native display behavior as well.…”

Variation in the Vocal Behavior of Common Loons (Gavia immer): Insights from Landscape-level Recordings

“…In conditions of rain or high wind, for example, acoustic signaling is an inefficient behavior because of the masking effects of rain and degradation due to wind (Brumm and Slabbekoorn 2005). Studies of many unrelated species show that animals facilitate communication by changing their signaling location (e.g., Blumenrath and Dabelsteen 2004;Barker and Mennill 2009) or the timing of signal production (e.g., Brumm 2006;Fuller et al 2007). Such signaling strategies can benefit animals by enhancing signal transmission and leading to more effective communication (Brumm and Naguib 2009).…”

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“…Besides anthropogenic noise, signal transmission during communication for birds can also be affected by ambient factors (Job et al 2016;Nicholls & Goldizen 2006;Turčoková et al 2010) and landscape factors (i.e. distance from forest or habitat type) (Arroyo-Solís et al 2013; Barker & Mennill 2009;Lowry et al 2013;Polak 2014;Sprau et al 2012). The presence of light could trigger an early start of dawn chorus of Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor) and House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) in the city of Seville, Spain (Arroyo-Solís et al 2013).…”