Variation in the Bout Structure of Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottus) Singing

Authors: THOMPSON N.S.¹; ABBEY E.¹; WAPNER J.¹; LOGAN C.²; MERRITT P.G.³; POOTH A.⁴

Source: Bird Behavior, Volume 13, Number 2, 2000 , pp. 93-98(6)

Publisher: Cognizant Communication Corporation

Abstract:

The highly variable singing of the northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottus) is distinguishable from that of other sympatric mimids by its organization into bouts: the bird's tendency to repeat an element several times before proceeding to another. To determine the degree to which this bout structure is a common feature of mockingbird song, 10 samples of singing from widely different populations and circumstances were examined including examples from coastal and central New England, central North Carolina, and the Florida peninsula and examples of day and night and spring and summer song. Measures included note parameters (peak frequency, internote interval, and note duration) and bout parameters (songs per bout and mean values of note parameters). All samples were found to be organized in bouts, but the degree of differentiation of the bouts (i.e., the degree to which the boundaries between bouts were emphasized by the contrast between their songs) varied both within and between samples. Bout differentiation was not maximized: songs of bouts sung in close temporal proximity were more similar than average, and the performance overall seemed to consist of runs of high and low values of note and/or bout parameters. Whether these variations in the bout structure reflect changes in the state of the singer or in his circumstances or serve to enhance the overall effectiveness of his performance remains to be determined.

Keywords: Mimidae Mockingbird Communication Song variation S

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: *Departments of Biology and Psychology, Clark University, Worcester, MA 2: †Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 3: ‡Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, Stuart, FL 4: §Department of Biology, University of Miami, Miami, FL

Publication date: 2000-01-01

• Bird Behavior is an international and interdisciplinary journal that publishes high-quality, original research on descriptive and experimental analyses of species-typical avian behavior, including the areas of ethology, behavioral ecology, comparative psychology, and behavioral neuroscience.

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• In this Subject: Zoology
• By this author: THOMPSON N.S. ;  ABBEY E. ;  WAPNER J. ;  LOGAN C. ;  MERRITT P.G. ;  POOTH A.

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