Low-frequency urban noise can interfere with avian communication through masking. Some species are able to shift the frequency of their vocalizations upwards in noisy conditions, which may reduce the effects of masking. However, results from playback studies investigating whether or not such vocal changes improve audibility in noisy conditions are not clear; the responses of free-ranging indivi...

Many animals produce long sequences of vocalizations best described as “songs.” In some animals, such as crickets and frogs, these songs are relatively simple and repetitive chirps or trills. However, animals as diverse as whales, bats, birds and even the humble mice considered here produce intricate and complex songs. These songs are worthy of study in their own right. For example, the study o...

The relationship between body size and vocalization parameters has been studied in many animal species. In insect species, however, the effect of body size on song frequency has remained unclear. Here we analyzed the effect of body size on the frequency spectra of mating songs produced by the two-spotted cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus. We recorded the calling songs and courtship songs of male cri...

In many song birds, males develop their songs as adults by imitating the songs of one or more tutors, memorized previously during a sensitive phase early in life. Previous work using two assays, the production of imitations by adult males and playback-induced calling by young birds during the sensitive phase for memorization, has shown that song birds can discriminate between their own and othe...

Whether geographic variation in signals actually affects communication between individuals depends on whether discriminable differences in signals occur over distances that individuals move in their lifetimes. We measure the ability of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to discriminate foreign from local songs using foreign songs recorded at a series of increasing distances and compare the resul...

Acadian flycatchers, Empidonax virescens, like many other tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae), sing complex songs with little variation among individuals. Measurements of frequency and timing revealed that individuals’ songs included consistent but slight individual differences. A comparison of differences between songs of territorial neighbours and between more distant males revealed no evidence t...

Differentiai use of song types according to context appears to be a common feature in songbirds [e.g . : the Chestnut-sided Warbler Dendroica pennsylvanica (Lein, 1 97 8), the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola (Cachpole & Leisler, 1 989), the Cuban Grassquit Tiaris canora (Baptista, 1978)] . The song types used can differ according to the season [e.g. the South island Robin Petroica austr...

The study aimed to identify the types of similes woman and man in Bible book, Song Songs, their underlying principal metaphor. While Songs Songs’ figurative language is commonly analyzed through lens historical pure literary approaches, authors it using cognitive linguistics framework. Qualitative content analysis was employed as method. findings showed that (35) outnumbered (12), they grouped ...

The flight songs of Common Yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) consist of three sections: 1) a series of short duration notes that extend over a wide range of frequencies, 2) a portion of the perch song, and 3) a complex series of notes and phrases that also extend over a wide range of frequencies. The initial and terminal sections provide information about the location of the singer while the i...

Acoustic analyses and field playback experiments were conducted to investigate interspecific song differences and discrimination in male gibbons. Songs were recorded and analyzed from males of three populations: agile gibbons (Hylobates agilis) in West Kalimantan and South Sumatra and Miiller’s gibbons (Hylobates muelleri) in East Kalimantan. Male songs from each of the three populations were p...