Ecology and Evolution of Acoustic Communication in Birds

Birds provide model system in which to study acoustic communication. For example, the variation in developmental programs among species and among different vocalizations within species has inspired studies of the interaction between genetic and environmental factors in producing sounds, the restriction of learning to sensitive phrases, and the transmission of vocal traditions in songbirds.With song often serving dual strategies of territorial defense and female attraction, studies using playback techniques have shown how birds interact, demostrating differences between males and females in the perception of sounds, and indicated how females might choose males on the basis of sound. Bird ong has also been a model system for understanding the interaction of neural and hormonal systems in the acquisition and control of learned sounds.The editors of this volume approached the most distinguished authorities in avian acoustic communication and asked each to describe particularly exciting topics for current and future research. Their responses comprise a comprehensive reference on bird behavior and animal communication.