Songbirds practice their love songs in the off-season
Practice makes Mr. Perfect for songbirds, who rehearse outside of mating season
Practice makes Mr. Perfect for songbirds
The Great Reed Warbler is a songbird that migrates from its breeding ground in Europe to its wintering ground in sub-Saharan Africa. Scientists were puzzled why the warbler, and many other songbirds there, continued making their mating calls at a time and place in which breeding opportunities do not exist.
Now a new study by Dr. Marjorie Sorensen, a Canadian scientist who did her research in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge in England, found that the birds were practising their mating calls to give them a competitive edge during the next mating season.
The birds with the more complex songs - including the warbler - rely more on singing than plumage to attract a mate. Those birds were found to practice more and even add syllables to their songs during the off-season.
Related Links
- Paper in The American Naturalist
- Summary in The American Naturalist
- Smithsonian magazine story
- The Atlantic story
- New Scientist story