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The Ecology of Avian Acoustical Signals

  • Conference paper
Ecology of Sensing

Abstract

The acoustical communication of birds is reviewed with an emphasis on ecological aspects. Sound propagation in the environment has specific consequences for signal transmission. The intensively studied ground effect and other influences offer good prediction for signal design in the frequency domain. The particular transmission properties observed in bird sounds are, in fact, at least as much governed by their temporal structure. Some principles of signal design are illustrated using woodpeckers as examples. They show how intimate and longdistance signals are structured, and how they relate to behavior and habitat use. The analysis of a set of species of antbirds of a rainforest community demonstrates that the temporal structure of the song is most important for explaining the transmission properties at singing post height. A review of the hypotheses proposed to explain the dawn chorus serves to point out the role of the receiver’s demand for information played in the shaping of bird song. It is suggested that researchers should pay more attention to acoustical signals other than song, because these may offer better models for testing specific hypotheses about functional aspects. More and more evidence from different fields of research indicates that temporal characteristics of vocalizations need more attention. Finally, viewing acoustical communication more from the receiver’s end may foster our understanding.

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  1. Konrad Lorenz-Institut für Vergleichende Verhaltensforschung, Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Savoyenstraße 1A, 1160, Vienna, Austria

    Hans Winkler

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  1. Biocenter, Institute for Zoology, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Friedrich G. Barth  & Axel Schmid  & 

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Winkler, H. (2001). The Ecology of Avian Acoustical Signals. In: Barth, F.G., Schmid, A. (eds) Ecology of Sensing. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-22644-5_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-22644-5_5

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