No description available.

The territorial song of the Field Sparrow, Spizella pusilla, was studied to determine if variations occur. Tape recordings were graphed by the use of a frequency to voltage converter and a pen recorder. Graphs were analyzed according to length of song, number of notes, length of second and last notes, frequency change, type of slurring, frequency range of song, and number of song patterns.The Field Sparrow was found to have a simple song, characterized by introductory notes followed by a trill. The song is of short duration, mean length was 2.7671 seconds, and the frequency range was between 3,000-5,500 Hz.Little variation was found to occur. Successive songs given by an individual indicated some variation. However, the nature of this variation was principally in number of notes and length of successive songs. All except two individuals were found to possess only one song pattern. Comparison of song patterns from one individual to another revealed considerable similarity. A cline in voice variation in the Field Sparrow is not indicated by the limited data available to this present study.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Frank Johnson, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 16, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on Dec. 16, 2009). "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta." Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

The function of the complex song of the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) was examined. Song playback experiments showed that both male and female starlings were attracted by song, and complex song inhibited males from entering nestboxes. Wild starlings (at least two years old when first recorded) showed extensive changes in the composition of their song phrase repertoires and most also increased the size of their repertoires, which will result in a correlation between age and repertoire size in this species. Females prefer males that have more complex song, and this preference remained significant when preferences for certain nest sites were controlled. Males with larger repertoires did not spend more time incubating or make more feeding visits to nestlings than did males with smaller repertoires. The evolution of complex song in the European starling is consistent with an age-indicator model of sexual selection, in which aspects of male quality correlated with age are advertised by the complexity of male song.

This research examined how song is used to transmit information on individual identity in American redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla). Specifically, it attempted to determine whether American redstarts (1) discriminate between neighbors and strangers on the basis of their respective songs, and (2) recognize individuals by their distinctive voice characteristics. I tested the latter by exposing subjects to identical song types sung by different birds. Each subject's behavior was evaluated according to a variety of response variables. In all trials, for all response variables, subjects responded highly but equally to each of the songs played. A post-hoc analysis revealed that the order in which treatment songs were presented affected the birds' responses. For four of five response variables, subjects successfully distinguished between the songs of neighbors and strangers when played the fourth song in the trial. Thus, it would appear that in redstarts this type of discrimination may be observed only after an initial song-exposure period.

Thesis (M.S.)--Villanova University, 2008. / Biology Dept. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-94).

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