Undirected (solitary) birdsong in female and male blue-capped cordon-bleus (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus) and its endocrine correlates.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Birdsong is a popular model system in research areas such as vocal communication, neuroethology or neuroendocrinology of behaviour. As most research has been conducted on species with male-only song production, the hormone-dependency of male song is well established. However, female singing and its mechanisms are poorly understood.

Methodology/principal findings

We characterised the song and its endocrine correlates of blue-capped cordon-bleus (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus), a species in which both sexes sing. Like other estrildids, they produce directed song during courtship and undirected (or solitary) song in isolation, i.e. when the mate is not visible or absent. We compare solitary song of blue-capped cordon-bleus to published descriptions of the song of its rel

SUBMITTER: Geberzahn N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3198478 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature