Two-voice complexity from a single side of the syrinx in northern mockingbirdMimus polyglottosvocalizations

Abstract

The diverse vocal signals of songbirds are produced by highly coordinated motor patterns of syringeal and respiratory muscles. These muscles control separate sound generators on the right and left side of the duplex vocal organ, the syrinx. Whereas most song is under active neural control, there has been a growing interest in a different class of nonlinear vocalizations consisting of frequency jumps, subharmonics, biphonation and deterministic chaos that are also present in the vocal repertoires of many vertebrates, including many birds. These nonlinear phenomena may not require active neural control, depending instead on the intrinsic nonlinear dynamics of the oscillators housed within each side of the syrinx. This study investigates the occurrence of these phenomena in the vocalizations of intact northern mockingbirds Mimus polyglottos. By monitoring respiratory pressure and airflow on each side of the syrinx, we provide the first analysis of the contribution made by each side of the syrinx to the production of nonlinear phenomena and are able to reliably discriminate two-voice vocalizations from potentially similar appearing, unilaterally produced, nonlinear events. We present the first evidence of syringeal lateralization of nonlinear dynamics during bilaterally produced chaotic calls. The occurrence of unilateral nonlinear events was not consistently correlated with fluctuations in air sac pressure or the rate of syringeal airflow. Our data support previous hypotheses for mechanical and acoustic coupling between the two sides of the syrinx. These results help lay a foundation upon which to understand the communicative functions of nonlinear phenomena.