As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Sunday 14 October 2018

Couples showing off: Songbirds are more passionate in front of an audience


Date:  October 3, 2018
Source:  Hokkaido University
Both sexes of a songbird called the blue-capped cordon-bleu intensify courtship performances that involve singing and dancing in the presence of an audience, especially if it is a member of the opposite sex, an international team of researchers has discovered.
Mutual courtship displays have generally been understood as a form of private communication between a male and a female, and many researchers have focused on this aspect. The cordon-bleu is a socially monogamous songbird found in Africa. In its courtship display, both sexes sing and sometimes add a unique dance that resembles tap dancing.
Birds that live in flocks like cordon-bleus are thought to carry out courtship communications in the presence of other birds. However, very little research has been conducted on whether the individuals performing courtship displays are influenced by the presence of other birds. In the present study published in Science Advances, researchers from Hokkaido University in Japan and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany, focused on this so-called audience effect.
In the experiment, the researchers placed paired couples in situations with and without an audience and observed their behavior.


No comments:

Post a Comment