VOCALIZATIONS OF THE NORTH ISLAND BROWN KIWI (<i>APTERYX MANTELLI</i>)

Corfield, Jeremy R.; Gillman, Len N.; Parsons, Stuart

doi:10.1525/auk.2008.06234

Cited by 26 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Kiwi are known to call at night and their most common vocalisation, the whistle call, has been physically characterised [53], [54]. While male and female calls differ significantly, both contain prominent high-frequency components in the 2-6 kHz range (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence for an Auditory Fovea in the New Zealand Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

et al. 2011

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Kiwi are rare and strictly protected birds of iconic status in New Zealand. Yet, perhaps due to their unusual, nocturnal lifestyle, surprisingly little is known about their behaviour or physiology. In the present study, we exploited known correlations between morphology and physiology in the avian inner ear and brainstem to predict the frequency range of best hearing in the North Island brown kiwi. The mechanosensitive hair bundles of the sensory hair cells in the basilar papilla showed the typical change from tall bundles with few stereovilli to short bundles with many stereovilli along the apical-to-basal tonotopic axis. In contrast to most birds, however, the change was considerably less in the basal half of the epithelium. Dendritic lengths in the brainstem nucleus laminaris also showed the typical change along the tonotopic axis. However, as in the basilar papilla, the change was much less pronounced in the presumed high-frequency regions. Together, these morphological data suggest a fovea-like overrepresentation of a narrow high-frequency band in kiwi. Based on known correlations of hair-cell microanatomy and physiological responses in other birds, a specific prediction for the frequency representation along the basilar papilla of the kiwi was derived. The predicted overrepresentation of approximately 4-6 kHz matches potentially salient frequency bands of kiwi vocalisations and may thus be an adaptation to a nocturnal lifestyle in which auditory communication plays a dominant role.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For details regarding recording and analysis methods see [54]. Briefly, spectrograms and power spectra were produced with a Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) size of 1,024 points using a Hamming window and 50% overlap, which produced a frequency resolution of 56 Hz.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for an Auditory Fovea in the New Zealand Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

et al. 2011

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“…Studies of Brown Kiwi Apteryx mantelli have shown that it exhibits acoustic features such as dialects (Hojem ) and duets (Corfield ), and has likely call functions of territory defence, mate attraction and pair contact (Colbourne & Kleinpaste , Corfield et al . ).…”

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“…Formants – amplification of certain frequencies due to vocal tract filtering – are evident in female Brown Kiwi calls, and have been postulated to serve as an information‐bearing element (Corfield , Corfield et al . ). However, the function of such spectral features has not been investigated, and the spectral characteristics of other kiwi species have not been examined.…”

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Vocal cooperation between the sexes in Little Spotted Kiwi Apteryx owenii

Digby

Bell

Teal

2013

Ibis

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Sexual call dimorphism in birds is usually associated with sexual size dimorphism. Departures from this relationship can be used to infer call function, but research into inter‐sexual call differences, as with song function in general, has been restricted by a bias towards male passerines. The nocturnal and flightless New Zealand kiwi (Apterygidae) are acoustically similar but taxonomically and ecologically very different from other birds, so provide a contrast in exploring avian call function and evolution. However, kiwi acoustic ecology is poorly understood, with the calls of only one of the five kiwi species spectrally described, and acoustic differences between the sexes virtually unknown. We conducted the first bioacoustic study of Little Spotted Kiwi Apteryx owenii, and assessed sexual call dimorphism in this species. There were significant inter‐sexual differences in call temporal and frequency characteristics that were not related to size dimorphism. Contribution to duets and variation in temporal structure with call context also differed between the sexes. We suggest that these differences indicate divergent call function, with male calls more suited for territory defence, and female calls for pair contact. There was a striking lack of overlap in the frequency spectrum distributions of male and female calls, which was also unrelated to size and was further emphasized by the presence of formants in female calls. We propose that this provides evidence for inter‐sexual acoustic cooperation in call frequency, of a type which to our knowledge has not previously been described in birds. This may result from selection for enhanced joint resource defence in kiwi.

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Retinal Anatomy of the New Zealand Kiwi: Structural Traits Consistent With Their Nocturnal Behavior

Corfield

Parsons

Harimoto

et al. 2014

The Anatomical Record

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Kiwi (Apteryx spp.) have a visual system unlike that of other nocturnal birds, and have specializations to their auditory, olfactory, and tactile systems. Eye size, binocular visual fields and visual brain centers in kiwi are proportionally the smallest yet recorded among birds. Given the many unique features of the kiwi visual system, we examined the laminar organization of the kiwi retina to determine if they evolved increased light sensitivity with a shift to a nocturnal niche or if they retained features of their diurnal ancestor. The laminar organization of the kiwi retina was consistent with an ability to detect low light levels similar to that of other nocturnal species. In particular, the retina appeared to have a high proportion of rod photoreceptors as compared to diurnal species, as evidenced by a thick outer nuclear layer, and also numerous thin photoreceptor segments intercalated among the conical shaped cone photoreceptor inner segments. Therefore, the retinal structure of kiwi was consistent with increased light sensitivity, although other features of the visual system, such as eye size, suggest a reduced reliance on vision. The unique combination of a nocturnal retina and smaller than expected eye size, binocular visual fields, and brain regions make the kiwi visual system unlike that of any bird examined to date. Whether these features of their visual system are an evolutionary design that meets their specific visual needs or are a remnant of a kiwi ancestor that relied more heavily on vision is yet to be determined. Anat Rec, 298:771-779, 2015. V C 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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VOCALIZATIONS OF THE NORTH ISLAND BROWN KIWI (APTERYX MANTELLI)

Cited by 26 publications

References 32 publications

Evidence for an Auditory Fovea in the New Zealand Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

Evidence for an Auditory Fovea in the New Zealand Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

Vocal cooperation between the sexes in Little Spotted Kiwi Apteryx owenii

Retinal Anatomy of the New Zealand Kiwi: Structural Traits Consistent With Their Nocturnal Behavior

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