Song function and territoriality in male and female White-throated Dippers Cinclus cinclus

Lucy Magoolagan,Stuart P Sharp

doi:10.1080/00063657.2018.1516729

Abstract

ABSTRACTCapsule: Male White-throated Dippers Cinclus cinclus are more likely and quicker to respond to the playback of song than females, but both sexes are more likely to respond before the onset of breeding than after.Aims: Territoriality and the function of song in female birds have rarely been studied outside of the tropics or Australasia. We investigated territoriality and song function in males and females of a Northern temperate species, the White-throated Dipper.Methods: We conducted playback trials on established pairs and compared the responses of males and females according to the sex of the simulated intruder and the timing of playback relative to the onset of breeding. A response was classified as movement towards the speaker, singing or both.Results: Males were significantly more likely and quicker to respond to playback than females, but neither sex responded differently to the playback of male and female song. Both sexes were more likely to respond to playback before breeding had begun than after.Conclusions: Our results suggest that both males and females are territorial but that males take the dominant role in defence. Female song appears to elicit a similar response to male song and may play a role in territoriality or mate defence.

Highlights

The two main functions of birdsong are mate attraction and territorial defence (Catchpole & Slater 1995, Catchpole 1996)
Capsule: Male White-throated Dippers Cinclus cinclus are more likely and quicker to respond to the playback of song than females, but both sexes are more likely to respond before the onset of breeding than after
Magoolagan et al reported no structural differences between male and female songs, singing by females was less frequent once eggs had been laid, presumably due to the impact that parental care has on their time and energy budget (Brunton & Li 2006) and the effect that singing could have on the risk of offspring predation (Kleindorfer et al 2016)

Summary

Introduction

The two main functions of birdsong are mate attraction and territorial defence (Catchpole & Slater 1995, Catchpole 1996). Magoolagan et al (in press) reported no structural differences between male and female songs, singing by females was less frequent once eggs had been laid, presumably due to the impact that parental care has on their time and energy budget (Brunton & Li 2006) and the effect that singing could have on the risk of offspring predation (Kleindorfer et al 2016) This decline in song frequency suggests that female song is unlikely to be used for coordinating parental care of offspring, but rather for territory or mate defence, pair bonding or signalling fertility. We compare the latency to respond to playback between males and females

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