Editing Magpie-lark
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Traditionally, it has been thought that the function of duet singing (not just in magpie-larks but birds more generally and indeed in [[mammal]]s, [[insect]]s and [[frog]]s) was to defend a territory or to maintain the pair-bond. More recently it has been proposed that it serves to guard against infidelity—that the male sings to attract a mate, and the female joins in to let her rivals know that this particular male is already taken [citation required - projecting a human psychological dynamic, or anthropomorphism]. Duet singing remains fairly poorly understood as a great deal of the existing research on birdsong has been carried out in the northern Hemisphere, where a fairly small number of female birds sing. |
Traditionally, it has been thought that the function of duet singing (not just in magpie-larks but birds more generally and indeed in [[mammal]]s, [[insect]]s and [[frog]]s) was to defend a territory or to maintain the pair-bond. More recently it has been proposed that it serves to guard against infidelity—that the male sings to attract a mate, and the female joins in to let her rivals know that this particular male is already taken [citation required - projecting a human psychological dynamic, or anthropomorphism]. Duet singing remains fairly poorly understood as a great deal of the existing research on birdsong has been carried out in the northern Hemisphere, where a fairly small number of female birds sing. |
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In the case of the magpie-lark, the duet singing is now known to be cooperative: pairs sing together to defend their territory. Magpie-larks sing more vigorously in response to duet calls from other birds than they do to the call of a single rival, and more vigorously still if the callers are strangers rather than established and familiar birds from a neighbouring territory. A pair of neighbours calling from the "wrong" place, however, (as when calls are recorded and played back by an experimenter) bring forth a powerful reaction: clearly, they know exactly who their neighbours are.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/no-larking-matter-a-duets-dire-precision/2007/06/04/1180809433923.html "No larking matter: a duet's dire precision"], Richard Macey, June 5, 2007, The Sydney Morning Herald |
In the case of the magpie-lark, the duet singing is now known to be cooperative: pairs sing together to defend their territory. Magpie-larks sing more vigorously in response to duet calls from other birds than they do to the call of a single rival, and more vigorously still if the callers are strangers rather than established and familiar birds from a neighbouring territory. A pair of neighbours calling from the "wrong" place, however, (as when calls are recorded and played back by an experimenter) bring forth a powerful reaction: clearly, they know exactly who their neighbours are.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/no-larking-matter-a-duets-dire-precision/2007/06/04/1180809433923.html "No larking matter: a duet's dire precision"], Richard Macey, June 5, 2007, The Sydney Morning Herald</ref> |
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==Gallery== |
==Gallery== |