Owl dusk chorus is related to the quality of individuals and nest‐sites |
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Authors: | Vincenzo Penteriani María Del Mar Delgado Renato Stigliano Letizia Campioni María Sánchez |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Do?ana, , 41092 Seville, Spain;2. Research Unit of Biodiversity (UMIB, UO‐CSIC‐PA), Oviedo University, , 33600 Mieres, Spain;3. Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki, , Helsinki, FI‐00014 Finland;4. Eco‐Ethology Research Unit, ISPA, , 1149‐041, Lisboa, Portugal |
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Abstract: | Dawn and dusk choruses represent one of the most investigated topics in avian vocal behaviour, but their underlying basis remains unclear. As with the dawn chorus in passerines, dusk chorus in owls seems to support the mate and rival assessment hypothesis and happens during the most constraining period, as individuals have not yet fed and, under the handicap principle, dusk chorus is likely to reveal inter‐individual differences in competitive ability, body condition and/or habitat quality. Here, a study of vocal displays at dusk of 14 Eurasian Eagle Owls Bubo bubo revealed a temporal succession in the order in which males began their vocalizations. The vocalization order appeared to be related to both the quality of the nesting territory (based upon mean number of fledged young and proportion of rats in the diet) and the male's individual quality, as revealed by haematocrit values and the brightness of the white throat patch. |
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Keywords: | calls individual quality vocal display |
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