Song Properties of Indigo Buntings in Open and Forested Habitats

Abstract

We examined several song properties of Indigo Buntings (Passerina cyanea) breeding in open and forested habitats. Although tree density varied significantly between the two habitats, there were no significant differences in minimum frequency, maximum frequency, dominant frequency, or note-internote duration between songs from the open and forested habitats. The only marginally significant difference detected was that more males in forested habitat had songs with at least one note characterized by rapid frequency modulation than males in open habitats. The similarity in the song properties we measured may have resulted from social song learning, or may have been due to similarity of the acoustical environment surrounding the selected singing posts within both habitats.