In brood-parasitic Cuculus cuckoos,male vocalizations are species-specific and easily distinguishable,whereas female calls are remarkably similar across species,making species identification challenging.In this study,...In brood-parasitic Cuculus cuckoos,male vocalizations are species-specific and easily distinguishable,whereas female calls are remarkably similar across species,making species identification challenging.In this study,we examined the structural characteristics and variability of female bubbling calls among four Cuculus species(Common Cuckoo C.canorus,Oriental Cuckoo C.optatus,Indian Cuckoo C.micropterus,and Lesser Cuckoo C.poliocephalus)breeding in South Korea.Comprehensive acoustic analyses of seven call parameters,using recordings from 2021 to 2023,were conducted to quantify the characteristics of their calls and compare withinand between-individual variability across species.Significant differences were found across all call parameters,with the Common Cuckoo producing the highest number of notes and the Oriental Cuckoo the lowest-frequency calls.Despite these differences,the overall structure of the calls remained acoustically similar,with overlapping characteristics across species.Furthermore,female Common Cuckoos exhibited greater within-individual variability in their calls,while the other species showed higher between-individual variability,which may further complicate species identification based vocalization alone.These findings highlight the complexities of female vocalizations in Cuculus cuckoos and suggest that ecological,social,and evolutionary factors may contribute to this vocal variability.展开更多
Brood parasites such as the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus exploit the parental abilities of their hosts,hosts avoid brood parasitism and predation by showing specific behavior such as loss of feathers,emission of fear...Brood parasites such as the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus exploit the parental abilities of their hosts,hosts avoid brood parasitism and predation by showing specific behavior such as loss of feathers,emission of fear screams and contact calls,displaying wriggle behavior to avoid hosts or potential prey,pecking at hosts and prey,and expressing tonic immobility(showing behavior like feigning death or rapid escape from predators and brood parasites).These aspects of escape behavior are consistent for individuals but also among sites,seasons,and years.Escape behavior expressed in response to a broad range of cuckoo hosts and prey are consistently used against capture by humans,but also hosts and brood parasites and predators and their prey.An interspecific comparative phylogenetic analysis of escape behavior by hosts and their brood parasites and prey and their predators revealed evidence of consistent behavior when encountering potential parasites or predators.We hypothesize that personality axes such as those ranging from fearfulness to being bold,and from neophobic to curiosity response in brood parasites constitute important components of defense against brood parasitism that reduces the overall risk of parasitism.展开更多
基金supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)funded by The Ministry of Education(NRF-2020R1I1A2063567)。
文摘In brood-parasitic Cuculus cuckoos,male vocalizations are species-specific and easily distinguishable,whereas female calls are remarkably similar across species,making species identification challenging.In this study,we examined the structural characteristics and variability of female bubbling calls among four Cuculus species(Common Cuckoo C.canorus,Oriental Cuckoo C.optatus,Indian Cuckoo C.micropterus,and Lesser Cuckoo C.poliocephalus)breeding in South Korea.Comprehensive acoustic analyses of seven call parameters,using recordings from 2021 to 2023,were conducted to quantify the characteristics of their calls and compare withinand between-individual variability across species.Significant differences were found across all call parameters,with the Common Cuckoo producing the highest number of notes and the Oriental Cuckoo the lowest-frequency calls.Despite these differences,the overall structure of the calls remained acoustically similar,with overlapping characteristics across species.Furthermore,female Common Cuckoos exhibited greater within-individual variability in their calls,while the other species showed higher between-individual variability,which may further complicate species identification based vocalization alone.These findings highlight the complexities of female vocalizations in Cuculus cuckoos and suggest that ecological,social,and evolutionary factors may contribute to this vocal variability.
文摘Brood parasites such as the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus exploit the parental abilities of their hosts,hosts avoid brood parasitism and predation by showing specific behavior such as loss of feathers,emission of fear screams and contact calls,displaying wriggle behavior to avoid hosts or potential prey,pecking at hosts and prey,and expressing tonic immobility(showing behavior like feigning death or rapid escape from predators and brood parasites).These aspects of escape behavior are consistent for individuals but also among sites,seasons,and years.Escape behavior expressed in response to a broad range of cuckoo hosts and prey are consistently used against capture by humans,but also hosts and brood parasites and predators and their prey.An interspecific comparative phylogenetic analysis of escape behavior by hosts and their brood parasites and prey and their predators revealed evidence of consistent behavior when encountering potential parasites or predators.We hypothesize that personality axes such as those ranging from fearfulness to being bold,and from neophobic to curiosity response in brood parasites constitute important components of defense against brood parasitism that reduces the overall risk of parasitism.
