Abstract
Studies of the role of bird song in avian communication have revealed numerous functions across many species, including its critical importance in female mate choice (intersexual selection) and male-male competition (intrasexual selection). A first step in understanding the role of song in different contexts is to describe the note, syllable, and song-types that occur, as well as their patterns of production within a population. Here, we do so for a north-central Illinois, USA, population of Northern House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon). As has been described in other populations, most songs (≈ 1–3 s in duration) contain an introductory section of soft, broadband notes followed by a terminal section of loud, frequency-modulated syllables that tend to be trilled. In characterizing the contents of 3.919 songs produced by 32 males throughout the breeding season, we identified 62 distinct notes, from which 76 syllables were produced. These syllables were organized in patterns largely unique to the individual—most notes and syllables were shared across the population, but almost no song-types were produced by more than one male. Singing declined over the course of the nesting cycle, and throughout the breeding season. Song production was at its minimum while fertile females were egg-laying, suggesting that males may change singing behaviour to guard against extra-pair copulations, which tend to occur at this time.
Zusammenfassung
Gesangsstruktur männlicher Hauszaunkönige und Muster der Gesangsproduktion und-wiedergabe während der Brutzeit.
Untersuchungen zur Rolle des Gesangs in der Kommunikation von Vögeln haben zahlreiche Funktionen bei vielen Arten aufgezeigt, von denen eine von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Partnerwahl von Weibchen (intersexuelle Selektion) und den Wettbewerb zwischen Männchen und Weibchen (intrasexuelle Selektion) ist. Ein erster Schritt zum Verständnis der Rolle des Gesangs in den unterschiedlichen Lebenssituationen ist die Beschreibung der vorkommenden Noten-, Silben- und Liedtypen und deren Entstehungsweisen innerhalb einer Population. Das unternahmen wir in dieser Studie für eine Population des Hauszaunkönigs (Troglodytes aedon) in Nord-Illinois, USA. Wie für andere Populationen schon beschrieben wurde, enthalten die meisten Lieder (≈ 1–3 Sekunden Dauer) einen einleitenden Abschnitt mit weichen, breitbandigen Tönen, gefolgt von einem abschließenden Abschnitt mit lauten, frequenzmodulierten Silben, die in der Regel als Triller gesungen werden. Bei der Analyse des Inhalts von 3.919 Gesängen, die von 32 Männchen während der Brutsaison produziert wurden, identifizierten wir 62 unterschiedliche Töne, aus denen 76 Silben gebildet wurden. Obwohl die meisten Noten und Silben in der ganzen Population vorkamen, war die Zusammensetzung der Silben für Einzeltiere typisch, und so gut wie kein Liedtyp wurde von mehr als einem Männchen produziert. Der Gesang nahm im Laufe des Nistzyklus und während der gesamten Brutsaison ab. Am schwächsten war die Gesangsproduktion während die Weibchen Eier legten, was darauf schließen lässt, dass die Männchen ihr Gesangsverhalten ändern als Schutz vor Kopulationen mit anderen Partnern, was in dieser Phase häufig vorkommt.
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Data availability
The sound recordings are available at https://doi.org/10.7479/z1sj-5p94. Electronic supplementary information contributing to this article is available online. Data, code, and materials for this study are in Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8078003.
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Acknowledgements
Thank you to the 2018 Wren Crew, in particular Kara Hodges, Dylan Poorboy, and Christine Poppe, for their contributions to recording song and capturing birds. We also thank the ParkLands Foundation (Merwin Nature Preserve) and the Sears and Butler families for allowing us to conduct our research on their land. We are grateful to Kyle Funk and John Sakaluk for providing code and expertise in R, and to Ben Sadd for discussions on statistical analyses.
Funding
Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health (2R15HD076308), American Ornithological Society, Wilson Ornithological Society, Animal Behavior Society, Illinois Ornithological Society, Beta Lambda chapter of the Phi Sigma Society, Champaign County Audubon Society, and Illinois State University Dissertation Completion Grant, Faculty Research Award, Robert H. Gray Biology/Ecology Scholarship, BIRDFeeder Grant, Charlena Wallen Scholarship, and Illinois State University Foundation Bird Study and Student Fellowship Fund (4125104).
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Together all authors conceived the study. RAD was the primary data collector, analyser, and manuscript writer. All authors edited the manuscript.
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This research was carried out with the approval of the Illinois State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (protocols 865938, 2019-4) and the United States Geological Survey (banding permit 09211).
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DiSciullo, R.A., Sakaluk, S.K. & Thompson, C.F. Song structure of male Northern House Wrens and patterns of song production and delivery across the nesting cycle. J Ornithol 165, 203–216 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-023-02098-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-023-02098-0