A preliminary comparison of a songbird's song repertoire size and other song measures between an urban and a rural site.

ABSTRACT: Characteristics of birdsong, especially minimum frequency, have been shown to vary for some species between urban and rural populations and along urban-rural gradients. However, few urban-rural comparisons of song complexity-and none that we know of based on the number of distinct song types in repertoires-have occurred. Given the potential ability of song repertoire size to indicate bird condition, we primarily sought to determine if number of distinct song types displayed by Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) varied between an urban and a rural site. We determined song repertoire size of 24 individuals; 12 were at an urban ('human-dominated') site and 12 were at a rural ('agricultural') site. Then, we compared song repertoire size, note rate, and peak frequency between these sites.

SUBMITTER: Brewer DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8848481 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature