Allometry of Alarm Calls: Black-Capped Chickadees Encode Information About Predator Size
Top Cited Papers
- 24 June 2005
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 308 (5730) , 1934-1937
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1108841
Abstract
Many animals produce alarm signals when they detect a potential predator, but we still know little about the information contained in these signals. Using presentations of 15 species of live predators, we show that acoustic features of the mobbing calls of black-capped chickadees ( Poecile atricapilla ) vary with the size of the predator. Companion playback experiments revealed that chickadees detect this information and that the intensity of mobbing behavior is related to the size and threat of the potential predator. This study demonstrates an unsuspected level of complexity and sophistication in avian alarm calls.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Signalers and Receivers in Animal CommunicationAnnual Review of Psychology, 2003
- Female Eavesdropping on Male Song Contests in SongbirdsScience, 2002
- DOES BRANTS' WHISTLING RAT (PAROTOMYS BRANTSII) USE AN URGENCY-BASED ALARM SYSTEM IN REACTION TO AERIAL AND TERRESTRIAL PREDATORS?Behaviour, 2001
- On the meaning of alarm calls: functional reference in an avian vocal systemAnimal Behaviour, 1993
- Essay on Contemporary Issues in Ethology: Variation among Mammalian Alarm Call Systems and the Problem of Meaning in Animal SignalsEthology, 1993
- Vervet monkey alarm calls: Semantic communication in a free-ranging primateAnimal Behaviour, 1980
- Vocal Repertoire of the Black-Capped ChickadeeThe Auk, 1978
- Nepotism and the Evolution of Alarm CallsScience, 1977
- Optimal strategies for predator avoidance: The relative importance of speed and manoeuvrabilityJournal of Theoretical Biology, 1974
- Characteristics of Some Animal CallsNature, 1955