SINGING COMPLEXITY OF THE BANDED WREN (THRYOTHORUS PLEUROSTICTUS): DO SWITCHING RATE AND SONG-TYPE DIVERSITY SEND DIFFERENT MESSAGES?

Abstract

Abstract Most species of songbird possess repertoires of song types or variations that allow singers to vary how they present their songs. “Complexity,” or the amount of variation in a singing performance, has several distinct components that include the number of song types used, variation within song types, and rate of switching between song types. Because singers can control each factor somewhat independently, different components may encode different kinds of information. In a series of interactive playbacks, I presented Banded Wrens (Thryothorus pleurostictus) with stimuli that altered song-type diversity and switching rates independently. My results show that switching rates affect males' aggressive approach responses, with lower switching rates eliciting stronger responses. By contrast, song-type diversity does not appear to affect males' approach responses when switching rates are held at a high and constant level. Although focal male switching rates and song-type diversity are not strongly influe...