Singing behaviour of the oriental magpie robin (Copsychus saularis)

Abstract

The oriental magpie robin (Copsychus saularis) (OMR) is a well-known tropical songbird in which males deliver two categories of songs, namely discrete song and continuous song. Discrete songs are delivered throughout the breeding season during different times of the day, while continuous songs are delivered occasionally during courtship behaviour, intruder male rivalry and female attraction. In this study, singing behaviour, song repertoire size and yearly variations in the presentation of the repertoire of discrete songs of the OMR were studied in a colour ringed population in urban habitat of Haridwar (29°55′N, 78°08′E), Uttarakhand, India. Song bout length varied from few minutes to about an hour. Song type length ranged from 0.8 to 2.8 s with a mean value of 1.67 ± 2.42 s. Length of pause between song types averaged 3.17 ± 0.76 s. Average number and types of elements in a song type were found to be 6.15 ± 2.6 and 4.95 ± 1.36 respectively. The average minimum and maximum frequencies of song types were found to be 2.4 ± 0.6 and 5.8 ± 0.8 kHz, respectively. A large repertoire of 20–82 song types with an average of 42.59 ± 13.05 song types per individual in 09 males of OMR was observed during 2011–2013. When the total number of distinct song types against the total songs observed in an individual was plotted, the cumulative curve showed a continuous progression which did not reach an asymptote. Song repertoires varied across the years largely due to addition and/or deletion of the song types in the successive years, indicating that the OMR could be regarded as an open ended song learner.