Snake-like hissing calls made by nestlings of the open nesting zitting cisticola Cisticola juncidis

Mimicry is widespread in the animal kingdom, with sound/or acoustic mimicry remaining less studied than visual mimicry. Some incubating female birds in cavity nests emit a hissing call when encountering nest predators, which sounds like a snake hiss and serves to scare off predators; this is conside...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethology, ecology & evolution ecology & evolution, 2024-01, Vol.36 (1), p.96-104
Main Authors: Barlow, Clive R., Liu, Jianping, Xia, Canwei, Liang, Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Batesian mimicry
Birds
Cisticola juncidis
hissing call
Juveniles
Mimicry
nest predation
Nesting
nestling
Nests
Predators
Snakes
Survival
vocal mimicry
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Summary:Mimicry is widespread in the animal kingdom, with sound/or acoustic mimicry remaining less studied than visual mimicry. Some incubating female birds in cavity nests emit a hissing call when encountering nest predators, which sounds like a snake hiss and serves to scare off predators; this is considered a form of acoustic Batesian mimicry. Similarly, for nearly defenseless bird nestlings, using a hissing call to scare off predators can improve their survival; however, few studies have reported nestlings making hissing calls. In this study, we report on the hissing calls of nestlings of the open-nesting zitting cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) and compare their hissing calls with those of other animals, such as birds and snakes. The results showed that the hissing calls of C. juncidis nestlings closely approximate the sounds of snakes. This study is the first report of sounds that mimic snakes made by the nestlings of any open-nesting passerine bird species.
ISSN:0394-9370
1828-7131
DOI:10.1080/03949370.2023.2213206