although host species generally face increased risk of brood parasitism in fragmented temperate landscapes and forest edge, little information exists to assess such risks in tropical birds. we studied how cuculidae species populations, host species population, and micro-environmental variables changed along an edge-to-interior gradient in peninsular malaysia. bird observations and environmental...

Mixed-species foraging associations may form to enhance feeding success or to avoid predators. We report the costs and consequences of an unusual foraging association between an endemic foliage gleaning tupaid (Nicobar treeshrew Tupaia nicobarica) and two species of birds; one an insectivorous commensal (greater racket-tailed drongo Dicrurus paradiseus) and the other a diurnal raptor and potent...

Objective identification and description of mimicked calls is a primary component of any study on avian vocal mimicry but few studies have adopted a quantitative approach. We used spectral feature representations commonly used in human speech analysis in combination with various distance metrics to distinguish between mimicked and non-mimicked calls of the greater racket-tailed drongo, Dicrurus...

Despite the prevalence of vocal mimicry in animals, few functions for this behaviour have been shown. I propose a novel hypothesis that false mimicked alarm calls could be used deceptively to scare other species and steal their food. Studies have previously suggested that animals use their own species-specific alarm calls to steal food. However none have shown conclusively that these false alar...

In April 2013, a transect c. 1100 km long with 100 points arranged in 5 sections was designed northern Namibia between Ruacana Watefall (W) and Kongola (E) to study avian diversity relation gradual changes precipitation (c. 350 mm W c.600 E). total, 81 bird species were recorded all points, but particular section, the numbers low, ranging from 22 38 species. overall, most frequent numerous (dom...

Audience effects are increasingly recognized as an important aspect of intraspecific communication. Yet despite the common occurrence of interspecific interactions and considerable evidence that individuals respond to the calls of heterospecifics, empirical evidence for interspecific audience effects on signalling behaviour is lacking. Here we present evidence of an interspecific audience effec...

Many animals must trade-off anti-predator vigilance with other behaviours. Some species facilitate predator detection by joining mixed-species foraging parties and 'eavesdropping' on the predator warnings given by other taxa. Such use of heterospecific warnings presumably reduces the likelihood of predation, but it is unclear whether it also provides wider benefits, by allowing individuals to r...