The function of three main call types in common cuckoo

Abstract

Acoustic signals play a key role in shaping the relationships in birds. Common cuckoos Cuculus canorus are known to produce various call types, but the function of these calls has only been studied recently. Here, we used a combination of field recordings (conducted in 2017) and playback experiments (conducted in 2018) to investigate the functional significance of common cuckoo calls. We found significant differences in the characteristics between male two‐element “cu‐coo” and three‐element “cu‐cu‐coo” calls, with these two call types being used in different contexts. The three‐element male “cu‐cu‐coo” calls were associated with females emitting their “bubbling” call. Playback experiments revealed that both males and females exhibit stronger responses to playing female “bubbling” calls than with the calls of the Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipter nisus) serving as a control, suggesting a significant intraspecific communication function for this call type. However, we did not find any evidence to support mate attraction in male calls, as females were not stimulated by playback of male calls compared with sparrowhawk calls in the control group.

Effective conspecific communication with aberrant calls in the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

“…This finding agrees with other published studies that showed no female-specific attract in playbacks of the conspecific males' "cu-coo" calls (i.e. Moskát et al 2017;Tryjanowski et al 2018;Xia et al 2019).…”

“…In more complex environments and in complex social systems, birds typically use intricate communication systems (Peckre et al 2019). Although common cuckoos live in diverse habitats, parasitize several host species, and exhibit active social interactions on their breeding ground (Davies 2000), they use a small vocal repertoire for acoustic communication, which is dominated by the males' two-note "cu-coo" syllables (Tryjanowski et al 2018;Xia et al 2019) over Table 1 The list of common cuckoos' response variables measured during the 2-min playback period…”

“…We also recorded the presence of female cuckoos (if any). In turn, female cuckoos were identified by their sex-specific bubbling calls, which were emitted less often than the male advertising calls (Deng et al 2019b;Xia et al 2019); typically, females were not visible during the playback. In order to avoid the intersexual effects on the responses to our playback, we did not start the experiment at those sites where females and males were interacting, including flying together, or perching on the same branch of a tree.…”

Female-female aggression and male responses to the two colour morphs of female common cuckoos

“…The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), a widely studied obligate brood parasite, is a typical example of adult female-specific, plumage polymorphism (e.g. Payne 2005;Mikulica et al 2017;Wyllie 1981). This species meets the criteria defined by Galeotti et al (2003) that predict the appearance of plumage polymorphism, i.e.…”

“…Female common cuckoos typically parasitise the nests of small songbirds within a specific areaan individual laying area - (Chance 1940;Wyllie 1981). However, individual laying areas of multiple females sometimes partly overlap Nakamura and Miyazawa 1997;Wyllie 1975).…”