Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Two sympatric species of passerine birds imitate the same raptor calls in alarm contexts

  • SHORT COMMUNICATION
  • Published:
Naturwissenschaften Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

While some avian mimics appear to select sounds randomly, other species preferentially imitate sounds such as predator calls that are associated with danger. Previous work has shown that the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) incorporates predator calls and heterospecific alarm calls into its own species-typical alarm vocalizations. Here, we show that another passerine species, the Sri Lanka Magpie (Urocissa ornata), which inhabits the same Sri Lankan rainforest, imitates three of the same predator calls that drongos do. For two of these call types, there is evidence that magpies also use them in alarm contexts. Our results support the hypothesis that imitated predator calls can serve as signals of alarm to multiple species.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

References

  • Baylis JR (1982) Avian vocal mimicry: its function and evolution. In: Kroodsma DE, Miller EH (eds) Acoustic communication in birds. Academic, New York, pp 51–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Blumstein DT, Cooley L, Winternitz J, Daniel JC (2008) Do yellow-bellied marmots respond to predator vocalizations? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62:457–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catchpole CK, Slater PJB (2008) Bird song: biological themes and variations, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Chu M (2001a) Heterospecific responses to scream calls and vocal mimicry by Phainopeplas (Phainopepla nitens) in distress. Behaviour 138:775–787

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chu M (2001b) Vocal mimicry in distress calls of phainopeplas. Condor 103:389–395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman SW, Patricella GL, Coyle B, Siani J, Borgia G (2007) Female preferences drive the evolution of mimetic accuracy in male sexual displays. Biol Lett 3:463–466

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Collias NE (1987) The vocal repertoire of the red junglefowl: a spectrographic classification and the code of communication. Condor 89:510–524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curio E, Ernst U, Vieth W (1978) The adaptive significance of avian mobbing. II. Cultural transmission of enemy recognition in blackbirds: effectiveness and some constraints. Z Tierpsychol 48:184–202

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobkin DS (1979) Functional and evolutionary relationships of vocal copying phenomena in birds. Z Tierpsychol 50:348–363

    Google Scholar 

  • Endler JA (1992) Signals, signal conditions, and the direction of evolution. Am Nat 139:S125–S153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson JWH, van Zyl A, Delport K (2002) Vocal mimicry in African Cossypha robin chats. J Ornithol 143:319–330

    Google Scholar 

  • Gjershaug JO, Diserud OH, Rasmussen PC, Warakagoda D (2008) An overlooked threatened species of eagle: Legge’s Hawk Eagle Nisaetus kelaarti (Aves: Accipitriformes). Zootaxa 1792:54–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodale E, Kotagama SW (2006) Context-dependent mimicry by a passerine bird. Proc R Soc Lond B 273:875–880

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenlaw JS, Shackelford CE, Brown RE (1998) Call mimicry by Eastern Towhees and its significance in relation to auditory learning. Wilson Bull 110:431–434

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunatilleke CVS, Gunatilleke IAUN, Ethugala AUK, Esufali S (2004) Ecology of Sinharaja rain forest and the forest dynamics plot in Sri Lanka’s world heritage site. Wildlife Heritage Trust, Colombo

    Google Scholar 

  • Hailman JP (1990) Blue Jay mimics Osprey. Fla Field Nat 18:81–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Hailman JP (2009) Context of Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) mimicking Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) cackle. Fla Field Nat 37:94–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Hauser MD, Caffrey C (1994) Anti-predator response to raptor calls in wild crows, Corvus brachyrhynchos herperis. Anim Behav 48:1469–1471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hindmarsh AM (1984) Vocal mimicry in starlings. Behaviour 90:302–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hindmarsh AM (1986) The functional significance of vocal mimicry in song. Behaviour 99:87–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard RD (1974) The influence of sexual selection and interspecific competition on Mockingbird song (Mimus polyglottos). Evolution 28:428–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janik VM, Slater PJB (2000) The different roles of social learning in vocal communication. Anim Behav 60:1–11

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan G (1999) Song structure and function of mimicy in the Australian magpie compared to the lyrebird. Int J Comp Psychol 12:219–241

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelley LA, Coe RL, Madden JR, Healy SD (2008) Vocal mimicry in songbirds. Anim Behav 76:521–528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kroodsma DE, Baylis JR (1982) Appendix: a world survey of evidence for vocal learning in birds. In: Kroodsma DE, Miller EH (eds) Acoustic communication in birds. Academic, New York, pp 311–337

    Google Scholar 

  • Lea AJ, Barrera JP, Tom LM, Blumstein DT (2008) Heterospecific eavesdropping in a nonsocial species. Behav Ecol 19:1041–1046

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magrath RD, Pitcher BJ, Gardner JL (2009) An avian eavesdropping network: alarm signal reliability and heterospecific response. Behav Ecol 20:745–752

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton ES (1976) Vocal mimicry in the Thick-billed Euphonia. Wilson Bull 88:485–487

    Google Scholar 

  • Ratnayake CP (2009) Ecology, behaviour and conservation of Sri Lanka Magpie Urocissa ornata. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Colombo

  • Robinson FN (1974) The function of vocal mimicry in some avian displays. Emu 74:9–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Seddon N, Tobias JA, Alvarez A (2002) Vocal communication in the pale-winged trumpeter (Psophia leucoptera): repertoire, context and functional reference. Behaviour 139:1331–1359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research, 3rd edn. Freeman, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Vernon CJ (1973) Vocal imitation by southern African birds. Ostrich 44:23–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Warakagoda D, Hettige U (2008) Birds of Sri Lanka: vocalization and image guide on CD-ROM. Bird and Wildlife Shop (Pvt.) Ltd, Nugegoda

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Deepal Warakagoda and Uditha Hettige for bringing the call of the Mountain Hawk Eagle to our attention and discussing their field observations. We are also grateful to Ashoka Jayarathna for discussion of his observations, and Jack Hailman, I. L. Jones, the late Amith Munidradasa, Jeffrey Podos and two anonymous reviewers for improvement of the manuscript. The Sri Lanka Forest Department provided permission to work inside the Sinharaja World Heritage Reserve. Financial support for CPR’s overall study of Sri Lanka Magpie was generously donated by the Ricoh Co., Ltd through the Wild Bird Society of Japan and the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka. Support for equipment and write-up for the project was provided by the National Science Foundation (USA) (DDIG grant and IRFP grant 0601909) to EG.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Colombo, 3, Sri Lanka

    Chaminda P. Ratnayake, Eben Goodale & Sarath W. Kotagama

Authors
  1. Chaminda P. Ratnayake
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eben Goodale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sarath W. Kotagama
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eben Goodale.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ratnayake, C.P., Goodale, E. & Kotagama, S.W. Two sympatric species of passerine birds imitate the same raptor calls in alarm contexts. Naturwissenschaften 97, 103–108 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-009-0617-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-009-0617-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation