Female song can be as long and complex as male song in wild House Finches(Haemorhous mexicanus)

In temperate zone avian species, female song is typically less common and structurally complex than male song. Although anecdotal accounts suggest that female House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) song is less complex, it has never been compared quantitatively with male song. We analyzed songs from 2 H...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wilson journal of ornithology 2020-12, Vol.132 (4), p.840-849
Main Authors: Kornreich, Ar, Youngblood, Mason, Mundinger, Paul C., Lahti, David C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bird migration
Complexity
Concavity
Females
Haemorhous mexicanus
MAJOR ARTICLES
Males
Ornithology
Sex differences
Sexual dimorphism
Song
Temperate zones
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Summary:In temperate zone avian species, female song is typically less common and structurally complex than male song. Although anecdotal accounts suggest that female House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) song is less complex, it has never been compared quantitatively with male song. We analyzed songs from 2 House Finch populations in southern New York to investigate the degree of sexual dimorphism in complexity, as measured by concavity, frequency excursion, and length of song. We found that, although females sing at a significantly higher mean frequency and lower bandwidth, there is no significant sex difference in the structural complexity of song. Future research should investigate whether female House Finch song has an unrecognized function, or whether the retention of complexity is a byproduct of selection on a correlated trait. En especies de aves de la región templada, el canto de las hembras es típicamente menos común y estructuralmente complejo que el canto de los machos. Aunque reportes anecdóticos sugieren que el canto de la hembra del gorrión Haemorhous mexicanus es menos complejo, éste nunca ha sido comparado cuantitativamente con el de los machos. Analizamos los cantos de 2 poblaciones de estos gorriones en el sur de Nueva York para investigar el grado de dimorfismo sexual en complejidad, medida en términos de concavidad, frecuencia de excursión y longitud de canto. Encontramos que, aunque las hembras cantan a una frecuencia significativamente más alta y a una amplitud de banda más baja, no hay diferencia significativa en la complejidad estructural del canto. Futuras investigaciones deben investigar si el canto de las hembras de este gorrión tiene una función no reconocida o si la retención de esta complejidad es consecuencia de la selección en una característica correlacionada.
ISSN:1559-4491
1938-5447
DOI:10.1676/19-00126