Abstract
We studied duet song and vocal duetting behavior in an endemic Taiwanese passerine, Steere’s liocichla (Liocichla steerii). We found that the leading male song in duets was highly individualistic. Also, we found duetting behavior varied significantly across different habitat types. Females were more likely to answer male songs in densely vegetated, steep forest habitat compared to open agricultural habitat. These findings provide quantitative evidence for vocal individuality for a duet song and provide tentative support for the idea that females are duetting to reveal their location to their mates.
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Acknowledgements
Thanks to the staff of National Taiwan University’s Meifeng Highlands Experiment Farm and the Taiwan Forest Bureau. H. Yan allowed the use of recording equipment and P. Nolan and D. Mennill aided in the analysis. Also, thanks to W-T. Liang, Y-T. Liu, S-F. Shen, H-Y. Huang for help in the field. D. Westneat, G. Hill, D. Mennill, D. Logue and two anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments. Funding was provided by National Science Council and Endemic Species Research Institute in Taiwan, and National Science Foundation grant no. 0307421 and National Science Foundation’s East Asia and Pacific Summer Program in the USA.
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Mays, H.L., Yao, CT. & Yuan, HW. Antiphonal duetting in Steere’s liocichla (Liocichla steerii): male song individuality and correlation between habitat and duetting behavior. Ecol Res 21, 311–314 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-005-0115-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-005-0115-0