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Lack of alarm calls in a gregarious bird: models and videos of predators prompt alarm responses but no alarm calls by zebra finches

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Abstract

Many vertebrates use vocalizations to communicate about the presence of predators, and some encode information about predator type or behavior. A fast-approaching predator typically elicits a “flee alarm call,” prompting others to escape to safety. In a field experiment, we presented gliding models of a predatory bird to several species representing four families of passerine, including our model species, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). All families presented with the glider gave a distinct call on at least one occasion, apart from the zebra finch, for which no specific alarm call was recorded. Following on from this unexpected result, we conducted an experiment in which we exposed captive zebra finches to video of a looming raptor. Results of the captive study showed that birds responded to the looming raptor with escape behavior and responded to less threatening stimuli with orienting or startle behavior. Despite this anti-predator response, birds did not give any distinct alarm call, and the distance calls of both males and females did not differ in structure or rate of delivery after exposure to a stimulus. Zebra finches are one of the most studied birds in the world, are gregarious, and have a rich vocal repertoire, yet their alarm communication has not been investigated experimentally. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that zebra finches lack a flee alarm call and appear not to signal about immediate danger through a change in calling rate.

Significance statement

Many animals emit alarm calls when faced with a threatening event in order to communicate with nearby group members. Threatening events can be simulated with models or by presenting a video of a looming stimulus on a screen. In separate studies, we presented gliding models and computer animations of a hawk to zebra finches, a bird species used in studies around the world, in order to test if they gave alarm calls to warn others of approaching danger. Although birds fled in response to the simulated predators, they did not emit a distinct alarm call. The birds also did not change their rate of calling or the acoustic structure of their distance calls. Surprisingly for a social and highly vocal species, the birds appear to lack alarm calls warning flockmates of immediate danger.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Juan Hernandez and Jon Salisbury for help with constructing the gliders, and Tom Chandler and Chandara Ung at Monash University for creating the animations. Assistance in the field was provided by Melissa Van De Wetering, Bridie Clarke, Heather Maginn, José Ramos, Jordan de Jong, Travis Dutka, Jemima Connell, Kristian Bones Enger, Shannan Courtenay, Lauren Grimes, Tom Handley, and Kathryn Lyons. Thanks to Nicola Khan for helping with husbandry of the finches and Angela Simms for assisting with video analysis. Thanks to our anonymous reviewers for providing valuable feedback on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Behaviour Group, Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

    Nicole E. Butler & Richard A. Peters

  2. Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Robert D. Magrath

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  1. Nicole E. Butler
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Correspondence to Nicole E. Butler.

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Funding

This research was supported by funding from La Trobe University. Field work was supported by a Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment awarded to NEB.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted. This article does not contain any studies with human participants by any of the authors. All experimental procedures were approved by La Trobe University’s Animal Ethics Committee (AEC protocol no. 12-39) and conducted under Victorian Government DELWP permit nos. 10007632 and 10007491 and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service permit no. SL101447.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the La Trobe University FigShare repository and have the following DOI: 10.4225/22/592e4f968fe8d

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Communicated by P. A. Bednekoff

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Butler, N.E., Magrath, R.D. & Peters, R.A. Lack of alarm calls in a gregarious bird: models and videos of predators prompt alarm responses but no alarm calls by zebra finches. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 71, 113 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-017-2343-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-017-2343-z

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