Attraction of Hoopoe Upupa epops females and males by means of song playback in the field: influence of strophe length

Experimental Hoopoe Upupa epops songs prepared with synthetic sound to differ in strophe length were used to test whether Hoopoe females prefer long strophes. The songs were broadcast simultaneously in the field from two loudspeakers situated 100 m apart, in early spring, when females actively search for mates. The playbacks attracted a total of 87 individuals, both males and females, with a maximum of five individuals (three males and two females) per trial. A female was considered to have been attracted by the song broadcast from a loudspeaker when she approached unaccompanied by a male, and when there was no male nearby. A total of 15 females chose one of the songs and significantly more were attracted by the one with long strophes. These results suggest that in the Hoopoe, male song attracts females, and that strophe length is a sexually selected song cue. There were no differences in the number or kind of males (classified according to strophe length) attracted by each playback. Frequently the experiment attracted more than one male simultaneously. These aggregations cannot be explained as territorial responses, and their significance is discussed together with that of natural spontaneous groupings of displaying males. Apparently males aggregate where they expect to find females.