The distribution and habitats of crossbills Loxia spp. in Britain, with special reference to the Scottish Crossbill Loxia scotica

A study was carried out, primarily in northern Scotland, to relate bill and wing measurements to diagnostic calls of crossbill species, and thereby use the calls to describe the distributions and habitats of the different species. Bill depth and wing length measurements from museum specimens and live‐trapped birds were used to describe the size categories. Almost all measurements of crossbills from England were similar to measurements of Common Crossbills from Fennoscandia. Museum specimens showed that crossbills in northern Scotland between 1822 and 1990 were a combination of Common Crossbills, birds which were intermediate between Common and Parrot Crossbills (Scottish Crossbills), and perhaps a few Parrot Crossbills. However, catches of crossbills between 1995 and 2000 showed that Parrot Crossbills (based on bill and wing measurements) were present at some sites in the Highlands. Recordings of flight calls and excitement calls of birds of known bill sizes allowed a classification of crossbills according to call types. Four different flight calls (referred to here as types 1–4) and five excitement calls (types A–E) were recognized. A sample of small‐billed birds, thereby identified as Common Crossbills, indicated that there were three groups of Common Crossbills: those giving type 1 flight calls and type A excitement calls (1A), type 2 flight calls and type B excitement calls (2B), and type 4 flight calls and type E excitement calls (4E). Large‐billed birds identified as Parrot Crossbills gave mainly type 2 flight calls and type D excitement calls. Birds with intermediate bill depths (Scottish Crossbills) gave type 3 flight calls and type C excitement calls. Distributions based on calls showed that 1A Common Crossbills were widespread in Scotland but the other types of Common Crossbill were rare. Parrot Crossbills were found in a few localities in the Highlands, and Scottish Crossbills (defined as those giving type 3 flight calls and type C excitement calls) were restricted to the northern and eastern Highlands. Scottish Crossbills and 1A Common Crossbills had overlapping distributions, and overlapped greatly in the types of forests they used between January and March when the Scots Pine cones were still closed. However, Scottish Crossbills were more frequently associated with stands containing Scots Pine compared with Common Crossbills.     

Auditory Perception of Hawks and Owls for Passerine Alarm Calls

The auditory perception of eight species of raptors was examined to test the hypothesis of Marler (1955) that these avian predators are unable to locate certain songbird alarm calls. In particular, Marler proposed that mobbing calls have characteristics that enhance their locatability and that these characteristics are absent in the high-frequency 'seet' calls given by individual songbirds. To test this hypothesis, the behavioral responses of four species of owls and four species of hawks, housed at two different raptor rehabilitation sites, to tape recorded alarm calls were examined. Each raptor was exposed to a random order of 10 trials of mobbing calls and 10 trials of a seet call. Responses were scored based upon head angle orientations. Hawks and owls responded more often and more accurately to mobbing calls than to seet calls. In general, owls responded to significantly more calls than hawks. The results are consistent with Marler's hypothesis that raptors have difficulty locating passerine seet calls. Nevertheless, future studies should test mobbing calls that vary in their frequency and duration ( Ficken & Popp 1996 ) to determine whether some mobbing calls are more difficult to locate than others.     

Similarity in the begging calls of nestling Red‐winged Blackbirds

ABSTRACT Although individually distinct begging calls may permit parents to recognize their offspring, birds nesting in dense breeding colonies where fledglings intermingle might benefit from additional adaptations. For example, if the calls of all nestlings in a brood were similar, parents would need to recognize only one brood call instead of the identity calls of each nestling. We recorded nestling Red‐winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) to determine whether their calls function to identify individuals (identity call hypothesis) or broods (brood call hypothesis). We used spectrogram cross‐correlation and dynamic time warping as well as call duration, peak frequency, and frequency range to estimate the similarity of begging calls of nestling Red‐winged Blackbirds. We recorded individual nestlings on day 5 and on day 9 of the nestling period to determine whether calls of individuals were more similar than calls of different nestlings, and whether calls of broodmates were more similar than calls of nestlings from different broods. We found that calls of 8‐d‐old individuals were more similar than calls of different nestlings, but the calls of broodmates were not more similar than those of nestlings from different broods. These results were consistent with the identity call hypothesis. We then compared begging calls of pairs of nestlings recorded separately and together on day 9. We found that the calls of 8‐d‐old nestlings recorded together were more similar than when they were recorded separately. In addition, using playback of begging calls from normal broods and artificial “broods” constructed from the calls of single nestlings, we found that females returned with food sooner in response to the calls of single nestlings (with enhanced call similarity) than to those of normal broods. Our results suggest that similar begging calls may be beneficial for both nestlings and parents, with broodmates fed at higher rates when their calls are more similar and, after fledging, parents needing to recognize only one brood call instead of the identity calls of each fledgling.     

Two‐component calls in short‐finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus)

Short‐finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) have complex vocal repertoires that include calls with two time‐frequency contours known as two‐component calls. We attached digital acoustic recording tags (DTAGs) to 23 short‐finned pilot whales off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and assessed the similarity of two‐component calls within and among tags. Two‐component calls made up <3% of the total number of calls on 19 of the 23 tag records. For the remaining four tags, two‐component calls comprised 9%, 23%, 24%, and 57% of the total calls recorded. Measurements of six acoustic parameters for both the low and high frequency components of all two‐component calls from the five tags were compared using a generalized linear model. There were significant differences in the acoustic parameters of two‐component calls between tags, verifying that acoustic parameters were more similar for two‐component calls recorded on the same tag than for calls between tags. Spectrograms of all two‐component calls from the five tags were visually graded and independently categorized by five observers. A test of inter‐rater reliability showed substantial agreement, suggesting that each tag contained a predominant two‐component call type that was not shared across tags.     

Factors Affecting Acoustic Variation in Barbary-macaque (Macaca sylvanus) Disturbance Calls

Semi-free-ranging Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) were observed to utter distinctive calls after disturbances in the surroundings (e.g. presence of a predator, occurrence of some unusual phenomenon). These calls differed from calls given in other contexts. Most of these calls were uttered in a serial manner, some of which lasted as long as the corresponding context. The aim of this study was to determine the object-related specificity of calls and variation of acoustic parameters within a call series. The analysis revealed that acoustic features of calls varied among contexts. Within one apparently homogeneous context, both temporal and frequency characteristics shifted gradually. Furthermore, the disturbance calls clearly differed between individuals. To examine the disturbance calls' meaning, playback experiments were conducted in which alarm calls and disturbance calls were presented. After playback of an alarm call, subjects typically showed an escape response, whereas, in response to disturbance calls, they most often scanned the surroundings. Juvenile animals generally showed stronger responses than adults.     

Neighbor Call Amplitude Influences Aggressive Behavior and Intermale Spacing in Choruses of the Pacific Treefrog (Hyla regilla)

Male Pacific treefrogs (Hyla regilla) aggregate in choruses during the breeding season. Within these choruses frogs distribute themselves nonrandomly. This study tested the hypothesis that the amplitude of neighbors' calls serves as a proximate cue in regulating the spacing of males in choruses, and that this is mediated by the incidence of aggressive-encounter calls by resident males. The amplitude of neighbors' calls showed little interindividual variation. Advertisement calls were played to males at three amplitudes that spanned the range of neighbor-call amplitudes measured between pairs of frogs. At playback amplitudes corresponding to the minimum neighbor-call amplitudes observed in choruses, frogs gave predominantly advertisement calls and few aggressive-encounter calls in response. As the playback amplitude was increased, subjects progressively decreased the number of advertisement calls and increased the number of encounter calls that they produced in response. The total number of calls (advertisement + encounter) given in response did not vary with playback amplitude. Intruders were likely to move away when a resident male gave encounter calls. In this way neighbor-call amplitude regulates intermale spacing in choruses.     

Vocal response of male European water frogs (Rana Esculenta complex) to mating and territorial calls

The responses of male European water frogs (the two species Rana lessonae and Rana ridibunda and their hybrid, Rana esculenta) to playback of their mating and territorial calls were studied during the mating season.In order to select biologically relevant intensities for the presentation of the recorded calls, the sound pressure of the calls produced by the frogs themselves was established prior to the experiment. At a distance of 1 m the most intense calls were those of R. ridibunda, with a sound pressure of 110 dB (peak SPL). The smaller males of R. esculenta gave calls about 5 dB lower in intensity. The calls of R. lessonae, the smallest phenotype, were still less intense, 10 dB lower than those of R. ridibunda.The territorial calls of all three phenotypes elicited territorial calls in all of the males tested, as a rule accompanied by approach to the sound source. The sound pressure required to elicit a vocal response was nearly the same for each of the three different territorial calls. Sometimes encounter calls and warning calls were given in addition to territorial calls.When the mating calls were presented at low intensity, in some cases the males responded with their own mating calls. Mating calls at higher intensity elicited the same behavior that appeared following presentation of territorial calls, but significantly higher sound pressures were required to elicit such a response to mating calls than to territorial calls. The males of R. lessonae and R. esculenta did not respond to the mating calls of R. ridibunda, and each of them had significantly lower thresholds to the mating call of its own phenotype than to that of the other. The males of R. ridibunda responded only to conspecific mating calls.The vocal-response thresholds are compared with those of the electrodermal response reacting to the same stimuli. The significance of the different calls of the European water frogs is discussed.     

Graded Aggressive Calls in the African Painted Reed Frog Hyperolius marmoratus (Hyperoliidae)

The African painted reed frog, Hyperolius marmoratus, has a potentially complex communication system. Advertisement calls and aggressive calls, although distinct from each other, are in fact two ends of a continuum of graded calls. Playback experiments using standard advertisement calls showed that males increased the proportion of aggressive calls as the stimulus intensity was increased. In addition, three characteristics of the aggressive calls changed in response to higher playback levels. Males increased the number of pulses/call, increased call duration, and decreased dominant frequency. Aggressive calling occurred primarily during the early hours of the night, with considerable overlap with times when females were searching for mates in the chorus. Females tested in two-choice arena trials discriminated against aggressive calls in favor of advertisement calls. It is suggested that aggressive calls reduce a male's ability to attract a female and that a graded signalling system may enable males to escalate agonistic encounters with other males without rendering calls completely unattractive to females.     

House Calls in Utah

To learn the criteria Utah physicians use in making or not making house calls and their specialty, age and frequency of calls, a random sample of half of Utah''s physicians in family practice, general practice and general medicine was surveyed. Of 225 respondents, 70% reported making house calls at an average rate of 2.6 per month. More family practitioners made house calls than did internists; older physicians made more house calls than their younger counterparts. An estimated 82% of the calls were for patients aged 65 years and older. The most frequently stated reasons for making house calls were that patients were homebound and to assess the family or home situation. Reasons given for not making house calls were inefficient use of time and lack of equipment or necessary facilities.     

BLUE WHALE, BALAENOPTERA MUSCULUS, VOCALIZATIONS FROM THE WATERS OFF CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

Low-frequency calls produced by blue whales, Balaenoptera musculus , were recorded in the northeastern Pacific Ocean off central California. Two blue whales were sighted during a vessel-based marine mammal survey, and when sonobuoys were subsequently deployed, blue whale calls were recorded. A third recording was obtained during the survey from a blue whale that was not seen. Recordings with 15, 25, and 55 min of calls were obtained from these individuals. The three recordings all contain two-part, low-frequency calls with slight interindividual variation. The calls consist of an amplitude modulated (AM) signal with a mean center frequency of 16.5 Hz, followed by a downsweep whose mean center frequency sweeps from 18.2 Hz to 16.6 Hz. The recordings are compared with blue whale recordings from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The geographic variability suggests that blue whale calls may be used as an acoustic indicator of stock identity.     

Variation in the male territorial hoot of the Tawny Owl Strix aluco in three English populations

Little is known about owl song. We made sonagrams of the territorial calls of 50 male Tawny Owls Strix aluco from three different areas. Six temporal and four frequency measures of the calls were recorded from the sonagrams. The measures of the calls were then subjected to analysis to try to separate between individual owls and between owls from different areas. We also looked for similarities between calls of neighbouring owls and for any effect of habitat on owl hoots. Individual owls were separated on the basis of their hoots with a high degree of success (98.6% overall), and there were significant differences between areas. Differences were found between calls in woodland and farmland habitats, but these differences were not in the direction expected to increase sound transmission. Calls of neighbouring owls did not resemble each other more than calls from owls that were not in vocal contact, implying that if calls are learned by Tawny Owls, they are learned before dispersal.     

Call-type matching in vocal exchanges of free-ranging resident killer whales, Orcinus orca

Previous sound recordings of resident (fish-eating) killer whale groups have revealed matrilineal group-specific call repertoires and a strong tendency for calls of the same type to be produced in series. Vocal interactions between individual free-ranging animals, however, have remained unexplored because it has not been possible to identify signallers reliably with a single hydrophone. Here we link acoustic arrivals of calls on a towed hydrophone array with visual tracking of photo-identified individuals to ascribe calls to a focal animal when it was separated from other members of its matrilineal group by more than 35 m, and thereby out of visual range. We confirm that individual members of a matrilineal group share a repertoire of stereotyped calls, and we statistically examine timing of stereotyped calls produced by one individual relative to calls produced by other members of its group. Analysis of the intervals between stereotyped calls indicated that calls were produced in group bouts with a criterion interval of 19.6 s separating bouts. We were therefore careful to develop randomization tests that preserved call interval structure. Focal whales produced 36% of their calls within 5 s of a call from a nonfocal animal, four times more calls than expected by chance based upon a rotation randomization test. Consecutive calls produced by different individuals during group-calling bouts matched call type more than expected by chance. Vocal exchanges of stereotyped calls with type matching appear to be an important aspect of intragroup calling in killer whales, although the function of this calling behaviour remains to be explored.     

Can Nocturnal Flight Calls of the Migrating Songbird,American Redstart,Encode Sexual Dimorphism and Individual Identity?

Bird species often use flight calls to engage in social behavior, for instance maintain group cohesion and to signal individual identity, kin or social associations, or breeding status of the caller. Additional uses also exist, in particular among migrating songbirds for communication during nocturnal migration. However, our understanding of the information that these vocalizations convey is incomplete, especially in nocturnal scenarios. To examine whether information about signaler traits could be encoded in flight calls we quantified several acoustic characteristics from calls of a nocturnally migrating songbird, the American Redstart. We recorded calls from temporarily captured wild specimens during mist-netting at the Powdermill Avian Research Center in Rector, PA. We measured call similarity among and within individuals, genders, and age groups. Calls from the same individual were significantly more similar to one another than to the calls of other individuals, and calls were significantly more similar among individuals of the same sex than between sexes. Flight calls from hatching-year and after hatching-year individuals were not significantly different. Our results suggest that American Redstart flight calls may carry identifiers of gender and individual identity. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of individuality or sexual dimorphism in the flight calls of a migratory songbird. Furthermore, our results suggest that flight calls may have more explicit functions beyond simple group contact and cohesion. Nocturnal migration may require coordination among numerous individuals, and the use of flight calls to transmit information among intra- and conspecifics could be advantageous. Applying approaches that account for such individual and gender information may enable more advanced research using acoustic monitoring.     

Distress call alternation in peking ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos)

Peking ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos) were found to alternate their distress calls with those of conspecifics. This alternation response consisted of two components: a strong tendency to suppress vocalizing during the conspecific's calls and a weaker tendency to increase vocalizing (above the level given by birds tested in auditory isolation) following those calls. Similar results were obtained whether pairs of ducklings were tested or whether individual ducklings were tested with tape-recorded calls. Further, visual contact with the conspecific, or a mirror image, although not necessary for eliciting an alternation response, did have a significant facilitative effect on this response. This latter effect may have been due to the general arousal-reducing properties of the visual stimulus. Finally, in contrast to the strong response of ducklings to conspecific distress calls, they displayed a much weaker tendency to alternate their calls with (a) clicking sounds and 7.0-kHz tones with the same temporal patterning and intensity as the taped distress calls, (b) 3.8-kHz tones that additionally matched the dominant frequency of the taped calls, and (c) synthetic distress calls that also approximated the frequency modulation of the taped calls. These results indicate that the distress call alternation response is not simply an artifact of a more general orienting response in which ducklings inhibit their own vocalizations whenever they hear any salient auditory stimulus. Rather, the response appears to be quite specifically triggered by the sound of the sibling calls. The present results stand in contrast to the common assertion that young birds largely ignore the distress calls of siblings. These results are, however, consistent with recent literature emphasizing the importance of sibling interactions in the analysis of mallard early social attachments.     

Variability and context specificity of narwhal (Monodon monoceros) whistles and pulsed calls

The behavioral and environmental context of animal calls provides insights into their functions. Narwhals are a highly vocal species and, like other social cetaceans, rely on acoustic signals to communicate. We characterize and categorize narwhal whistles and pulsed calls, as well as investigate variation in these calls under different contexts (behavior, herd, and year) using recordings made during the month of August 2006–2008, in Koluktoo Bay (72°04′N, 80°32′W). We detected similarities among whistles but not pulsed calls that were produced under a similar behavioral context. Both whistles and pulsed calls recorded within the same herd were more similar than whistles and pulsed calls recorded within different herds. We did not find any type of whistle to be associated with a specific behavior although some acoustical features might be behavior specific. Both whistles and pulsed calls show properties that are consistent with the hypothesis that narwhals produce group‐ or individual‐specific calls.     

Golden-marmot Alarm Calls. II. Asymmetrical Production and Perception of Situationally Specific Vocalizations?

Many species produce alarm calls that vary according to situation. An implicit assumption for these species is that production and perception of situationally specific alarm calls is symmetrical: perceivers respond to variation produced by signalers. The companion paper to this one (Blumstein 1995) showed that golden marmots (Marmota caudata aurea) produce variable alarm calls that vary in proportion to the degree of risk the caller perceives. Calls produced in higher-risk situations have fewer notes than calls produced in lower-risk situations. In this study, to determine the salience of the number of notes per call in eliciting different responses in conspecific perceivers, I played back three-note alarm calls, eight-note alarm calls, and the non-alarm vocalization of a local bird to adult golden marmots. Although marmots responded differently to bird calls and alarm calls, vigilance responses to the different alarm calls were similar. Several explanations may account for the apparent insensitivity to alarm-call variation: golden marmots may require additional contextual cues to properly interpret alarm calls, perceptual abilities do not parallel production abilities, or calls may serve a generalized alerting function.     

On the responses of laughing gull chicks (Larus atricilla) to the calls of adults I. Recognition of the voices of the parents

Twelve matched pairs of parent-raised and hand-raised laughing gull chicks from the same clutches were tested, at 6 to 8 days post-hatching, with successive presentations of playback of a recording of calls of their parents and recording of calls of parents from a neighbouring nest, in a situation in which they could approach or withdraw from the sound.The parent-raised chicks oriented towards the sound, moved towards the sound and called when the calls of their own parents were played; they tended to withdraw from the sound and sit silently when the calls of the neighbouring parents were played.The hand-raised chicks fled from the sound and crouched in silence in response to both calls of their parents and the calls of neighbours. They were more vocal and active in periods without sound than were the parent-raised chicks.It is concluded that laughing gull chicks in nature learn to recognize the individual characteristics of the calls of their parents, and to react positively to the calls, through interaction with their parents prior to the age of 6 days post-hatching.     

Variations in the echolocation calls of the European free-tailed bat

The echolocation calls of Tadarida teniotis were studied in an outdoor flight enclosure (captive individuals) and in the wild using single microphones or an array of four microphones. Calls were characterized by measures of 10 call variables. Comparison of individual calls recorded on four microphones arrayed in a tetrahedron with 1 m between each microphone revealed that all calls were not equally detectable by all microphones but that there were no significant differences in call features obtained from calls recorded on all four microphones. A comparison of 47 calls recorded by all four microphones showed no significant differences in the features of the four recordings of each call. Analysis of calls of five individuals flying individually in an outdoor flight cage revealed significant individual differences in call features. In the field, T. teniotis used long, narrowband search-phase calls, usually without harmonics. Analysis of 1876 search-phase echolocation calls of T. teniotis recorded in the field in Israel and Greece in 2002, 2005 and 2006 showed significant year-to-year and site-to-site differences in some call features. When flying in the presence of conspecifics, T. teniotis changed their echolocation calls. We found a range of different buzzes in the wild, and based on their structure we attempted to classify them as feeding and social buzzes. The features of individual calls comprising buzzes differed significantly among buzzes, and yet there were no consistent differences between what we classified as feeding and social buzzes.     

Ultrasonic Communication in Rats: Can Playback of 50-kHz Calls Induce Approach Behavior?

Rats emit distinct types of ultrasonic vocalizations, which differ depending on age, the subject's current state and environmental factors. Since it was shown that 50-kHz calls can serve as indices of the animal's positive subjective state, they have received increasing experimental attention, and have successfully been used to study neurobiological mechanisms of positive affect. However, it is likely that such calls do not only reflect a positive affective state, but that they also serve a communicative purpose. Actually, rats emit the highest rates of 50-kHz calls typically during social interactions, like reproductive behavior, juvenile play and tickling. Furthermore, it was recently shown that rats emit 50-kHz calls after separation from conspecifics. The aim of the present study was to test the communicative value of such 50-kHz calls. In a first experiment, conducted in juvenile rats situated singly on a radial maze apparatus, we showed that 50-kHz calls can induce behavioral activation and approach responses, which were selective to 50-kHz signals, since presentation of 22-kHz calls, considered to be aversive or threat signals, led to behavioral inhibition. In two other experiments, we used either natural 50-kHz calls, which had been previously recorded from other rats, or artificial sine wave stimuli, which were identical to these calls with respect to peak frequency, call length and temporal appearance. These signals were presented to either juvenile (Exp. 2) or adult (Exp. 3) male rats. Our data clearly show that 50-kHz signals can induce approach behavior, an effect, which was more pronounced in juvenile rats and which was not selective to natural calls, especially in adult rats. The recipient rats also emitted some 50-kHz calls in response to call presentation, but this effect was observed only in adult subjects. Together, our data show that 50-kHz calls can serve communicative purposes, namely as a social signal, which increases the likelihood of approach in the recipient conspecific.     

非线性鸣声对雄性凹耳蛙应答的影响

为了解非线性鸣声对凹耳蛙(Odorrana tormota)应答音的影响以及非线性鸣声是否能够增强鸣声的不可预测性,本研究通过回放非线性鸣声和线性鸣声来刺激陌生雄性凹耳蛙,并记录应答次数及统计分析应答音相关参数。结果表明,回放非线性鸣声时会引起陌生蛙(n=22)更多次数的应答,但两种刺激引起的首次应答时间没有显著差异。对应答音相关参数分析表明,线性鸣声引起的应答音在总时长上比非线性鸣声引起的应答音更长且具有显著差异,而其他声音参数(包括平均基频、最大基频、最小基频、主频)均没有显著差异。推测当陌生雄蛙听到同类鸣叫时,出于保护领地和资源的本能反应,陌生蛙都会第一时间作出反应,因此在两类声音的应答反应时间上并没有区别。而在应答次数上,非线性鸣声引起了凹耳蛙更多次数的应答,可能是由于鸣声中的非线性现象使得声音更加复杂,包含更多信息,容易提高声音接收者对这类声音的关注度。本研究结果表明,凹耳蛙鸣声中包含的非线性现象能够增强其声音的不可预测性,引起陌生蛙产生更多的应答次数。