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Female blue tits sing frequently: a sex comparison of occurrence, context, and structure of song
[Ultraviolet sexual dimorphism and assortative mating in blue tits]

Author

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  • Javier Sierro
  • Selvino R de Kort
  • Katharina Riebel
  • Ian R Hartley

Abstract

In species with mutual mate choice, we should expect adaptive signaling in both sexes. However, the role of female sexual signals is generally understudied. A case in point is female birdsong that has received considerably less attention than male song. This holds even for well-studied species such as the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), an important model in evolutionary ecology. Although there have been anecdotal reports of female song from three populations, there are no quantitative studies on female song in this species. Here, we report systematic sampling from a population of individually marked blue tits over 3 years, revealing that females sang frequently throughout the sampling period. Notably, daytime singing of females occurred in functionally similar contexts as in males (agonistic, solo song, and alarm contexts) but females had lower song output than males and were not observed singing dawn song, while males showed long singing displays at dawn before copulations take place. Female and male song overlapped substantially in acoustic structure (i.e., same song types or peak frequency) but females had smaller individual song-type repertoires, shorter trills, and lower vocal consistency. Differential selection pressures related to functional differences in male and female song might explain the observed variation in acoustic structure. With the first quantitative study of female song in such a well-studied species, we hope to stimulate further investigations into the functions of female singing, especially in the Northern temperate zones where female song may have been overlooked, not only in this but perhaps in other monomorphic species.

Suggested Citation

  • Javier Sierro & Selvino R de Kort & Katharina Riebel & Ian R Hartley, 2022. "Female blue tits sing frequently: a sex comparison of occurrence, context, and structure of song [Ultraviolet sexual dimorphism and assortative mating in blue tits]," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 33(5), pages 912-925.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:beheco:v:33:y:2022:i:5:p:912-925.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/beheco/arac044
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Amy C. Rogers & Naomi E. Langmore & Raoul A. Mulder, 2007. "Function of pair duets in the eastern whipbird: cooperative defense or sexual conflict?," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 18(1), pages 182-188, January.
    2. Timothy H. Parker & Iain R. Barr & Simon C. Griffith, 2006. "The blue tit's song is an inconsistent signal of male condition," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 17(6), pages 1029-1040, November.
    3. Karan J. Odom & Michelle L. Hall & Katharina Riebel & Kevin E. Omland & Naomi E. Langmore, 2014. "Female song is widespread and ancestral in songbirds," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-6, May.
    4. László Zsolt Garamszegi & Denitza Zaprianova Pavlova & Marcel Eens & Anders Pape Møller, 2007. "The evolution of song in female birds in Europe," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 18(1), pages 86-96, January.
    5. J. Jordan Price, 2009. "Evolution and life-history correlates of female song in the New World blackbirds," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 20(5), pages 967-977.
    6. Pavel Linhart & Hans Slabbekoorn & Roman Fuchs, 2012. "The communicative significance of song frequency and song length in territorial chiffchaffs," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(6), pages 1338-1347.
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    Cited by:

    1. Naomi E Langmore, 2023. "Female song can be over-looked in even the most intensively studied songbirds," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 34(1), pages 160-161.

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