Abstract
The variation and complexity of songbird vocalisations is striking, with some birds singing up to 1,000 different song variants. Why do songbirds sing so much and such complex songs? This chapter will provide an overview over how song is controlled and acquired, how and what kind of information is coded in different singing styles and to what features receivers attend to, thereby showing how structure is linked to function. Bird song plays a crucial role in resource defense and mate attraction, allowing us to identify the potential fitness benefits of specific singing traits. Here we review and integrate some of the key contemporary topics such as advances in understanding how early development affects signals and receiver decision rules and how information is signalled in bird communities.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Amrhein V, Kunc HP, Naguib M (2004) Non-territorial nightingales prospect territories during the dawn chorus. Proc R Soc B 271:S167–S169
Amy M, Sprau P, de Goede P, Naguib M (2010) Effects of personality on territory defence in communication networks: a playback experiment with radio-tagged great tits. Proc R Soc B 277:3685–3692
Araya-Salas M (2012) Is birdsong music? Evaluating harmonic intervals in songs of a Neotropical songbird. Anim Behav 84:309–313
Balaban E (1988) Cultural and genetic variation in swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) I. Song variation, genetic variation, and their relationship. Behaviour 105:250–291
Ballentine B, Hyman J, Nowicki S (2004) Vocal performance influences female response to male bird song: an experimental test. Behav Ecol 15:163–168
Bensch S, Hasselquist D (1992) Evidence for active female choice in a polygynous warbler. Anim Behav 44:301–311
Bolhuis JJ, Gahr M (2006) Neural mechanisms of birdsong memory. Nat Rev Neurosci 7:347–357
Bolhuis JJ, Okanoya K, Scharff C (2010) Twitter evolution: converging mechanisms in birdsong and human speech. Nat Rev Neurosci 11:747–759
Brumm H, Zollinger SA, Slater PJB (2009) Developmental stress affects song learning but not song complexity and vocal amplitude in zebra finches. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 63:1387–1395
Buchanan KL, Spencer KA, Goldsmith AR, Catchpole CK (2003) Song as an honest signal of past developmental stress in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Proc R Soc B 270:1149–1156
Catchpole CK (1980) Sexual selection and the evolution of complex songs among European warblers of the genus Acrocephalus. Behaviour 74:149–166
Catchpole CK (1983) Variation in the song of the great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus in relation to mate attraction and territorial defense. Anim Behav 31:1217–1225
Catchpole CK, Slater PJB (2008) Bird song: biological themes and variations, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, New York
Clayton NS (1990) Subspecies recognition and song learning in zebra finches. Anim Behav 40:1009–1017
Dalziell AH, Magrath RD (2012) Fooling the experts: accurate vocal mimicry in the song of the superb lyrebird, Menura novaehollandiae. Anim Behav 83:1401–1410
Doupe AJ, Kuhl PK (1999) Birdsong and human speech: common themes and mechanisms. Annu Rev Neurosci 22:567–631
Draganoiu TI, Nagle L, Kreutzer M (2002) Directional female preference for an exaggerated male trait in canary (Serinus canaria) song. Proc R Soc B 269:2525–2531
Earp SE, Maney DL (2012) Birdsong: is it music to their ears? Front Evol Neurosci 4:1–10
Fisher SE, Scharff C (2009) FOXP2 as a molecular window into speech and language. Trends Genet 25:166–177
Flower TP, Gribble M (2012) Kleptoparasitism by attacks versus false alarm calls in fork-tailed drongos. Anim Behav 83:403–410
Forstmeier W, Kempenaers B, Meyer A, Leisler B (2002) A novel song parameter correlates with extra-pair paternity and reflects male longevity. Proc R Soc B 269:1479–1485
Garamszegi LZ, Eens M, Pavlova DZ, Aviles J, Moller AP (2007) A comparative study of the function of heterospecific vocal mimicry in European passerines. Behav Ecol 18:1001–1009
Geberzahn N, Hultsch H, Todt D (2002) Latent song type memories are accessible through auditory stimulation in a hand-reared songbird. Anim Behav 64:783–790
Gil D, Gahr M (2002) The honesty of bird song: multiple constraints for multiple traits. Trends Ecol Evol 17:133–141
Godard R (1991) Long-term memory of individual neighbors in a migratory songbird. Nature 350:228–229
Grabowska-Zhang AM, Sheldon BC, Hinde CA (2012a) Long-term familiarity promotes joining in neighbour nest defence. Biol Lett 8:544–546
Grabowska-Zhang AM, Wilkin TA, Sheldon BC (2012b) Effects of neighbor familiarity on reproductive success in the great tit (Parus major). Behav Ecol 23:322–333
Hall ML (2004) A review of hypotheses for the functions of avian duetting. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 55:415–430
Hall ML (2009) A review of vocal duetting in birds. Adv Study Behav 40:67–121
Hasselquist D, Svon B, Schantz T (1996) Correlation between male song repertoire, extra-pair paternity and offspring survival in the great reed warbler. Nature 381:229–232
Hoese WJ, Podos J, Boetticher NC, Nowicki S (2000) Vocal tract function in birdsong production: experimental manipulation of beak movements. J Exp Biol 203:1845–1855
Holveck MJ, Riebel K (2010) Low-quality females prefer low-quality males when choosing a mate. Proc R Soc B 277:153–160
Holveck MJ, de Castro ACV, Lachlan RF, ten Cate C, Riebel K (2008) Accuracy of song syntax learning and singing consistency signal early condition in zebra finches. Behav Ecol 19:1267–1281
Illes AE, Yunes-Jimenez L (2009) A female songbird out-sings male conspecifics during simulated territorial intrusions. Proc R Soc B 276:981–986
Kacelnik A, Krebs JR (1983) The dawn chorus in the great tit (Parus major): proximate and ultimate causes. Behaviour 83:287–309
Kelley LA, Coe RL, Madden JR, Healy SD (2008) Vocal mimicry in songbirds. Anim Behav 76:521–528
Kroodsma DE, Vielliard JME, Stiles FG (1996) Study of bird sounds in the neo-tropics: urgency and opportunity. In: Kroodsma DE, Miller EH (eds) Ecology and evolution of acoustic communication in birds. Comstock, Ithaca/London, pp 268–281
Kunc HP, Amrhein V, Naguib M (2005) Seasonal variation of dawn song and its relation to mating success in the nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos). Anim Behav 70:1265–1271
Kunc HP, Amrhein V, Naguib M (2006) Vocal interactions in nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos): more aggressive males have higher pairing success. Anim Behav 72:25–30
Lachlan RF, Feldman MW (2003) Evolution of cultural communication systems: the coevolution of cultural signals and genes encoding learning preferences. J Evol Biol 16:1084–1085
Lachlan RF, Nowicki S (2012) How reliable is song learning accuracy as a signal of male early condition? Am Nat 180:751–761
Langmore NE (1998) Functions of duet and solo songs of female birds. Trends Ecol Evol 13:136–140
Lauay C, Gerlach NM, Adkins-Regan E, Devoogd TJ (2004) Female zebra finches require early song exposure to prefer high-quality song as adults. Anim Behav 68:1249–1255
MacDougall-Shackleton SA, Ball GF (1999) Comparative studies of sex differences in the song-control system of songbirds. Trends Neurosci 22:432–436
Marler P (1997) Three models of song learning: evidence from behavior. J Neurobiol 33:501–516
Marler P (2004) Bird calls: a cornucopia for communication. In: Marler P, Slabbekoorn H (eds) Nature’s music: the science of birdsong. Elsevier/Academic Press, San Diego
Marler P, Tamura M (1964) Culturally transmitted patterns of vocal behavior in sparrows. Science 146:1483–1486
McGregor PK, Avery MI (1986) The unsung songs of great tits (Parus-Major) – learning neighbors songs for discrimination. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 18:311–316
McGregor PK, Krebs JR (1982) Mating and song types in the great tit. Nature 297:60–61
Miller DB (1979) Long-term recognition of father’s song by female zebra finches. Nature 280:389–391
Naguib M (2005) Singing interactions in song birds: implications for social relations, territoriality and territorial settlement. In: McGregor PK (ed) Communication networks. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 300–319
Naguib M, Mennill D (2010) The signal value of bird song: empirical evidence suggests song overlapping is a signal. Anim Behav 80:e11–e15
Naguib M, Riebel K (2006) Bird song: a key model in animal communication. In: Brown K (ed) Encyclopedia for language and linguistics, vol 2, 2nd edn. Elsevier, Boston, pp 40–53
Naguib M, Amrhein V, Kunc HP (2004) Effects of territorial intrusions on eavesdropping neighbors: communication networks in nightingales. Behav Ecol 6:1011–1015
Naguib M, Kunc HP, Sprau P, Roth T, Amrhein V (2011) Communication networks and spatial ecology in nightingales. Adv Study Behav 43:239–271
Nelson DA (2000) A preference for own-subspecies’ song guides vocal learning in a song bird. Proc Natl Acad Sci 97:13348–13353
Nowicki S, Peters S, Podos J (1998) Song learning, early nutrition and sexual selection in songbirds. Am Zool 38:179–190
Peake TM (2005) Communication networks. In: McGregor PK (ed) Communication networks. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Podos J (1997) A performance constraint on the evolution of trilled vocalizations in a songbird family (Passeriformes: Emberizidae). Evolution 51:537–551
Riebel K (2000) Early exposure leads to repeatable preferences for male song in female zebra finches. Proc R Soc Lond B 267:2553–2558
Riebel K (2003a) Developmental influences on auditory perception in female zebra finches – is there a sensitive phase for song preference learning? Anim Biol 53:73–87
Riebel K (2003b) The “mute” sex revisited: vocal production and perception learning in female songbirds. Adv Study Behav 33:49–86
Riebel K (2009) Song and female mate choice in zebra finches: a review. Adv Study Behav 40:197–238
Riebel K, Hall ML, Langmore NE (2005) Female songbirds still struggling to be heard. Trends Ecol Evol 20:419–420
Riebel K, Naguib M, Gil D (2009) Experimental manipulation of the rearing environment influences adult female zebra finch song preferences. Anim Behav 78:1397–1404
Ritchie GRS, Kirby S, Hawkey DJC (2008) Song learning as an indicator mechanism: modelling the developmental stress hypothesis. J Theor Biol 251:570–583
Roth T, Sprau P, Schmidt R, Naguib M, Amrhein V (2009) Sex-specific timing of mate searching and territory prospecting in the nightingale: nocturnal life of females. Proc R Soc B 276:2045–2050
Rothenberg D, Roeske TC, Voss HU, Naguib M, Tchernichovski O (2013) Investigation of musicality in birdsong. Hear Res (in press) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2013.08.016. The manuscript is now online first at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595513002141
Schmidt R, Kunc HP, Amrhein V, Naguib M (2008) Aggressive responses to broadband trills are related to subsequent pairing success in nightingales. Behav Ecol 19:635–641
Searcy WA, Yasukawa K (1996) Song and female choice. In: Kroodsma DE, Miller EH (eds) Ecology and evolution of acoustic communication in birds. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, pp 454–473
Slater PJB (1986) The cultural transmission of bird song. Trends Ecol Evol 1:94–97
Slater PJB (2003) Fifty years of bird song research: a case study in animal behaviour. Anim Behav 65:633–639
Slater PJB, Clements FA, Goodfellow DJ (1984) Local and regional variations in chaffinch song and the question of dialects. Behaviour 88:76–97
Spencer KA, MacDougall-Shackleton SA (2011) Indicators of development as sexually selected traits: the developmental stress hypothesis in context. Behav Ecol 22:1–9
Sprau P, Schmidt R, Roth T, Amrhein V, Naguib M (2010) Effects of rapid broadband trills on responses to song overlapping in nightingales. Ethology 115:300–308
Staicer CA, Spector DA, Horn AG (1996) The dawn chorus and other diel patterns in acoustic signaling. In: Kroodsma DE, Miller EH (eds) Ecology and evolution of acoustic communication in birds. Cornell University Press, London
Stoddard PK (1996) Vocal recognition of neighbors by territorial passerines. In: Kroodsma DE, Miller EH (eds) Ecology and evolution of acoustic communication in birds. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, pp 356–376
ten Cate C (1989) Behavioural development: toward understanding processes. Perspect Ethol 8:243–269
Thorpe WH (1954) The process of song-learning in the chaffinch as studied by means of the sound spectrograph. Nature 173:465–469
Thorpe WH (1958) The learning of song patterns by birds, with especial reference to the song of the chaffinch Fringilla coelebs. Ibis 100:535–570
Todt D, Naguib M (2000) Vocal interactions in birds: the use of song as a model in communication. Adv Study Behav 29:247–296
Verzijden MN, ten Cate C, Servedio MR, Kozak GM, Boughman JW, Svensson EI (2012) The impact of learning on sexual selection and speciation. Trends Ecol Evol 27:511–519
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Naguib, M., Riebel, K. (2014). Singing in Space and Time: The Biology of Birdsong. In: Witzany, G. (eds) Biocommunication of Animals. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7414-8_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7414-8_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7413-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7414-8
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)