A new study of Australian birds examines how for some species their personality shines through in the songs.
The research, published in Royal Society Open Science, is based on observations of wild superb-fairy wrens (Malurus cyaneus), a common, small bird in southeastern Australia.
Very few previous studies have sought to understand the relationship between the individual personality of a bird, and its song complexity. And the authors of the new study say none have looked at this relationship in female birds.
Song complexity was compared to 2 individual traits in the birds: exploration and aggressiveness.
They found that more adventurous birds might have more “cultured” songs, while more hostile birds had simpler songs.
“Regardless of their sex or life stage, individuals that were more exploratory had more element types per song, which may be explained by the possibility that more exploratory birds approach and learn from a wider variety of tutors compared to less exploratory birds,” says first author Diane Colombelli-Négrel, Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia.
“Additionally, more aggressive individuals produced songs with fewer syllables, and more aggressive fledglings, but not adults, had more element types per song. In birds, singing behaviours play a critical role in mating and territory defence.”
The researchers tested how aggressive and exploratory individual captured birds were. Then they were released back into the wild where their songs were recorded over several months.
“Our study supports the idea that both male and female birds can advertise their personality when singing, which may be important for mate choice,” Colombelli-Négrel says.