<tt>Scott F. Lovell and M. Ross Lein<br>
Neighbor-stranger discrimination by song in a suboscine bird, the
alder flycatcher, Empidonax alnorum<br>
Behavioral Ecology 2004 15: 799-804.</tt><br>
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<tt>Bird song and its functions have been studied extensively for more than 50
years, but almost entirely in oscine passerines. Few studies have
investigated any aspect of song in suboscine passerines. This is
significant because song development and the extent of individual variation
in song differs greatly between these groups. Learning and auditory
feedback play major roles in song development in all oscines studied, but
apparently no part in song ontogeny in suboscines. The ability of
territorial oscine males to discriminate between songs of neighbors and
strangers has received considerable attention, but this phenomenon is
virtually unstudied in suboscines. We tested whether a suboscine bird, the
alder flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum), was able to discriminate between
songs of neighbors and strangers despite limited individual variation in
song. We performed playback experiments to measure responses of males to
songs of neighbors and strangers broadcast from the territory boundary
shared by the subject and the neighbor. Subjects responded more
aggressively to songs of strangers than to songs of neighbors. These
results further our understanding of the evolution of song and its
functions in suboscines by demonstrating that, similar to their oscine
relatives, they can discriminate between the songs of neighbors and
strangers.</tt><br>
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