Abstract
Among the broad diversity of songbird vocalisations, song can serve a wide range of different functions depending on the species and context. In many species, aggressive motivation has often been linked with the use of fast repeated series of elements typically referred to as trills. However, only a few studies explored the role of this specific component in species with a large repertoire and high song complexity. Here, we investigate the potential role of trills in the territorial vocal response of males Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia), a species with complex songs characterised by the frequent use and diversity of their trills. We performed playback experiments simulating territorial intrusion to test if trills signal aggressive motivation in this species. If so, we expected tested males to respond by changing their trill rate or frequency of trill use in songs, and/or using different trill types than before the stimulation. Contrary to our expectation, males did not modify their trill rate or differed in trill type use before, during or after playback. There was a tendency for decrease in trill duration and the number of elements in the trills during the playback stimulation, reflecting to some extent the overall use of shorter songs by males during that stage of the experiment. Altogether, our study does not support the role of trills as motivation signals for territory defence in Thrush Nightingales, but advocates for more research on their potential roles in signalling other information.
Zusammenfassung
Beim Sprosser, einem Singvogel mit komplexem Gesang, spielen Triller wohl keine Rolle bei der Antwort von Männchen auf ein Eindringen ins Revier
Als Teil der vielfältigen Lautäußerungen von Singvögeln kann Gesang eine Reihe unterschiedlicher Funktionen erfüllen, abhängig von der jeweiligen Vogelart und Situation. Bei vielen Arten ist die Motivation zum Angriff oftmals mit der Benutzung schneller, wiederholter Serien von typischerweise als Triller bezeichneten Elementen in Verbindung gebracht worden. Nur wenige Studien haben jedoch die Rolle dieser spezifischen Gesangskomponente bei Arten mit einem breiten Gesangsrepertoire und hoher Gesangskomplexität erforscht. Hier untersuchen wir die potenzielle Rolle von Trillern bei der Territorialantwort männlicher Sprosser (Luscinia luscinia), einer Art mit komplexen Gesängen, die durch den häufigen Gebrauch vielfältiger Triller gekennzeichnet sind. Wir haben Playback-Experimente durchgeführt, die das Eindringen eines Rivalen ins Revier simulierten, um zu testen, ob Triller bei dieser Vogelart die Angriffsmotivation signalisieren. In diesem Fall erwarteten wir, dass die getesteten Männchen ihre Trillerrate oder die Häufigkeit des Trillergebrauchs in ihren Gesängen ändern und/oder andere Trillertypen als vor der Simulation benutzen sollten. Entgegen unserer Erwartung änderten die Männchen jedoch weder ihre Trillerrate, noch unterschieden sich die Trillertypen, die sie vor, während und nach dem Playback benutzten. Es bestand eine Tendenz, die Trillerdauer sowie die Anzahl verschiedener Elemente in den Trillern während der Playback-Simulation zu verringern, was zu einem gewissen Grad den Gebrauch kürzerer Gesänge durch die Männchen in dieser Phase des Experiments widerspiegelt. Insgesamt stützt unsere Studie die Rolle von Trillern als Motivationssignale für die Revierverteidigung bei Sprossern nicht, sondern befürwortet die weitere Untersuchung ihrer Rolle beim Übermitteln anderer Informationen.
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Availability of data and materials
The datasets generated and analysed during the current study will be available online (Dryad data repository). All experimental recordings used in the analysis have been deposited in the Animal Sound Archive at the Museum for Natural History in Berlin and are available under the CC-BY-SA Licence at the following https://doi.org/10.7479/b478-jj11
Code availability
The custom code (R script) used for the statistical analysis is available from the corresponding author on request.
Change history
30 April 2021
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-021-01889-7
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Acknowledgements
We thank Jana Vokurková for her contribution to the early recordings and Jiří Reif for his support in the field. We are grateful to two anonymous referees for their helpful comments and suggestions on the manuscript.
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This study was supported by the Czech Science Foundation project 18-14325S.
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AS, TP and AP contributed to the study conception and design. AS and RR collected the song recordings necessary for the playback. AS prepared the experiment, collected and analysed the data with the input from AP and TP. AS and TP drafted the manuscript, AP and RR contributed to the revisions. All the authors gave their final approval for publication.
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Due to our non-invasive recording approach, no bird had to be captured or handled during our experiments. Playback settings were designed to minimise the territorial disturbance and the tested birds usually resumed their singing routine shortly after.
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Communicated by T. S. Osiejuk.
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Souriau, A., Reifová, R., Petrusek, A. et al. No evidence for a role of trills in male response to territorial intrusion in a complex singer, the Thrush Nightingale. J Ornithol 162, 865–878 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-021-01879-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-021-01879-9