A Spectrographic Analysis of the Vocal Repertoire of the African Village Weaverbird

Abstract

This species (Textor cucullatus) has at least 15 different calls, each used in a more or less different situation. The physical structure of these vocal signals is objectively characterized by sound spectrograms, and a description is given of the various situations eliciting each vocalization. It is shown that opposite types of situation generally induce vocal signals having more or less opposite types of physical structure, illustrating Darwin's principle of antithesis in this species. Comparison of the vocal signals of the Village Weaverbird with those of the Domestic Fowl and other birds brings out many similarities and helps to generalize the functional categories used for the different vocalizations. The principle of adaptive specialization is applied to vocal communication in animals, with special reference to the Village Weaverbird. Thus, fully half of the various vocal signals used by this species are closely related to its highly specialized mating and nesting habits. || ABSTRACT AUTHORS: N. E. Collias