SONG SHARING BY YELLOW WARBLERS DIFFERS BETWEEN TWO MODES OF SINGING: IMPLICATIONS FOR SONG FUNCTION

Abstract

Abstract I investigated the pattern of song sharing for the two singing modes (Type I and Type II) of Yellow Warblers (Dendroica petechia). There is indirect evidence that males use Type I singing to attract females, and Type II singing to interact with other males, but how males use these singing modes for these functions is unknown. One way in which males might use Type II singing to interact with neighboring males is through the use of “shared songs:” males might preferentially sing songs they share with neighboring males to engage in song type matching or repertoire matching. I tested the prediction that Yellow Warblers should share more of their Type II songs with neighbors compared to non-neighbors, but that there should be no such relationship for Type I songs. I found that males in a Pennsylvania population shared significantly more of their Type II song repertoire with neighbors than with non-neighbors, and that sharing between males declined with distance between their territories. There was no ...