Vocal mimicry in the song of Icterine warblers (Hippolais icterina): possible functions and sources of variability

• Published in: Ethology, ecology & evolution Vol. 30; no. 5; pp. 430 - 446
• Main Authors: Riegert, Jan, Jůzlová, Zuzana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Florence Taylor & Francis 03.09.2018; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: acoustic similarity; acoustics; alarm calls; Alarm systems; antipredatory behavior; Birds; Czech Republic; genetic distance; Hippolais icterina; Hypotheses; Males; Mimicry; Passeriformes; Similarity; Song; song learning; song variability, mimicry; Songbirds; Species; Variability; vocalization; Vocalization behavior; Czech Republic

Vocal mimicry in birds is a well-known phenomenon, but in the majority of bird mimic species, its function, variability and accuracy still remain undiscovered. We analysed the song of 23 Icterine warbler (Hippolais icterina) males in České Budějovice (Czech Republic) and identified 52 mimicked speci...