Vocal interactions in common nightingales (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Luscinia megarhynchos</Emphasis>): males take it easy after pairing |
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Authors: | Hansjoerg P Kunc Valentin Amrhein Marc Naguib |
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Institution: | 1.Verhaltensbiologie (Animal Behaviour), Zoologisches Institut,Universit?t Zürich,Zürich,Switzerland;2.Department of Animal Behaviour,University of Bielefeld,Bielefeld,Germany;3.Research Station Petite Camargue Alsacienne,University of Basel,Basel,Switzerland |
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Abstract: | Seasonal patterns of bird song have been studied intensively with a focus on individual males. However, little is known about
seasonal patterns of singing during vocal interactions between males. Vocal interactions have been shown to be important in
sexual selection as males may signal aspects of motivation or quality. Here, we investigated in nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) whether a male’s behaviour in vocal interactions at different stages of the breeding season is influenced by its mating
status. We examined how males that differ in their subsequent mating success respond to a non-interactive, nocturnal playback
presented during the period of mate attraction and subsequently during the egg-laying period. We found that mated males overlapped
fewer songs and had a lower song rate during the egg-laying period compared to their responses during the mate-attraction
period, whereas unpaired males did not vary in their responses between the two periods. Our results suggest that mating status
is a key factor affecting singing behaviour in vocal interactions and that a time-specific singing pattern like song overlapping
is used flexibly during vocal interactions. Because song overlapping is thought to be a signal of aggression in male–male
vocal interactions, it seems that males vary the level of aggression in vocal interactions according to their mating status
and to the stage in the breeding season. |
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Keywords: | Sexual selection Eavesdropping Nightingale Bird song Nocturnal song Male– male interactions |
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