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Mechanisms of song production in the Australian magpie

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Abstract

Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) are notable for their vocal prowess. We investigated the syringeal and respiratory dynamics of vocalization by two 6-month-old males, whose songs had a number of adult features. There was no strong lateral syringeal dominance and unilateral phonation was most often achieved by closing the syringeal valve on the contralateral side of the syrinx. Unlike other songbirds studied, magpies sometimes used an alternative syringeal motor pattern during unilateral phonation in which both sides of the syrinx are partially adducted and open to airflow. Also, in contrast to most other songbirds, the higher fundamental frequency during two-voice syllables was usually generated on the left side of the syrinx. Amplitude modulation, a prominent feature of magpie song, was produced by linear or nonlinear interactions between different frequencies which may originate either on opposite sides of the syrinx or on the same side. Pulse tones, similar to vocal fry in human speech, were present in some calls. Unlike small songbirds, the fundamental of the modal frequency can be as low as that of the pulse tone, suggesting that large birds may have evolved pulse tones to increase acoustic diversity, rather than decrease the fundamental frequency.

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Abbreviations

AM:

Amplitude modulation

CF:

Constant frequency

F LB :

Rate of airflow through left bronchus

F RB :

Rate of airflow through right bronchus

FM:

Frequency modulation

f 0 :

Fundamental frequency

LMAN:

Lateral nucleus of the anterior nidopallium

MMAN:

Medial nucleus of the anterior nidopallium

m 0 :

Second fundamental frequency or modulating frequency

P AS :

Pressure in the thoracic air sac

RA:

Robust nucleus of the arcopallium

S AS :

Sound in thoracic air sac

S LB :

Sound in left bronchus

S RB :

Sound in right bronchus

V:

Time domain microphone recording of vocalizations

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Acknowledgments

We thank Drs. Gabriel Beckers, Kenneth K. Jensen and Gabriel Mindlin for their constructive comments on this manuscript and Amy Coy for her assistance in data analysis and preparation of the figures. All experimental procedures were approved by the University of New England Animal Ethics Committee. Supported by a grant to R.A.S from the US National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Roderick A. Suthers

  2. Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    J. Martin Wild

  3. Centre for Neuroscience and Animal Behaviour, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

    Gisela Kaplan

Authors
  1. Roderick A. Suthers
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  2. J. Martin Wild
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  3. Gisela Kaplan
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Correspondence to Roderick A. Suthers.

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Suthers, R.A., Wild, J.M. & Kaplan, G. Mechanisms of song production in the Australian magpie. J Comp Physiol A 197, 45–59 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-010-0585-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-010-0585-6

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