Neighbour-Stranger Song Discrimination in Territorial Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella Males, and a Comparison with Responses to Own and Alien Song Dialects

Abstract

Yellowhammer males sing individually distinct repertoires of 2-3 (1-4) phrase types. The capability of territorial males to discriminate between neighbour and stranger song repertoires was tested by means of playback and a comparison made with similar experiments on their capability to discriminate between own and foreign song dialects. The males were found to respond differentially to known and unknown songs, aggressiveness being higher towards foreign songs. Individuals exposed to repeated tests sang more and called less during later tests. The experiments did not test whether males recognized neighbours on the combination of song types in their repertoires, or whether they reacted according to the proportion of familiar songs in the repertoire.