Female song can be over-looked in even the most intensively studied songbirds

Female eavesdropping on male song contests in songbirds.

Male song reflects the quality of the singer in many animals and plays a role in female choice of social and copulation partners. Eavesdropping on male-male vocal interactions is a means by which females can compare different males’ singing behavior directly and make immediate comparisons between potential partners on the basis of their relative vocal performance (1, 2). Using an interactive pl...

Female Song Occurs in Songbirds with More Elaborate Female Coloration and Reduced Sexual Dichromatism

Elaborate plumages and songs in male birds provide classic evidence for Darwinian sexual selection. However, trait elaboration in birds is not gender-restricted: female song has recently been revealed as a taxonomically-widespread trait within the songbirds (oscine Passerines), prompting increased research into likely functions and social/ecological correlates. Here we use phylogenetically-info...

Functional aspects of song learning in songbirds.

The oscine passerines, or 'songbirds', are one of the few animal taxa in which individuals learn their vocal signals. Recent comparative studies reveal a remarkable diversity of song-learning strategies in the songbirds. Here, we discuss recent studies that shed light on the possible functional basis of different song-learning programs. We argue that further insights into the evolution and ecol...

Cancer-Causing Genes Can Convert Even the Most Committed Cells

August 2005 | Volume 3 | Issue 8 | e286 | e281 According to folklore, Polynesians originated from a mythical homeland called Hawaiki. The existence of such a place, however, as well as its location, has been the subject of much speculation. Signifi cant research efforts have attempted to elucidate these claims through archeological, linguistic, and, more recently, biological evidence. Jean Trej...

Song as an aggressive signal in songbirds