Song sharing in the pied bush chat (Saxicola caprata)

Abstract

In most oscine passerine bird species, male song is composed of different song types of which some are shared with other males. Our aim for this study was to investigate whether song sharing occurs in the pied bush chat (a tropical species with multiple song types), and if so, whether neighbouring males share significantly more song types than non-neighbouring males and whether song sharing declines with increasing distance between males. A standard song sharing index was used to compare all song types of each male with all song types of all other males. Males had a mean repertoire of 22.8±4.4 song types ranging from 17 to 30 song types. Results revealed that neighbouring males shared significantly more song types than did non-neighbouring males. Nevertheless, no two males shared all song types in their repertoires. Furthermore, we observed a significant decline in the proportion of song repertoire shared with increasing distance between males. Results confirm the presence of song sharing in the pied bush chat, which may help neighbouring males to mediate social relationships.