VARIABILITY OF SONG IN THE GREAT REED WAR BLER ACROCEPHALUS-ARUNDINACEUS

FISCHER S FROMMOLT KH TEMBROCK G

S. Fischer et al., VARIABILITY OF SONG IN THE GREAT REED WAR BLER ACROCEPHALUS-ARUNDINACEUS, Journal fur Ornithologie, 137(4), 1996, pp. 503-513

42

TEDESCO

Article

Ornithology

Journal fur Ornithologie → ACNP

0021-8375

137

4

1996

503 - 513

ISI

0021-8375(1996)137:4<503:VOSITG>2.0.ZU;2-I

We investigated the variability of song in the Great Reed Warbler with in a colour ringed population at the Muggelsee in Berlin. The repertoi res of 10 individual males contained between 42 and 54 syllable types. The males showed a relatively high rate of syllable sharing in their songs (0.69 to 0.90). These similarities show a weak negative correlat ion with the distance of the territories involved. Quantitative and qu alitative parameters in the song of individual males changed significa ntly within a breeding season as well as between seasons. This indicat es that the birds are either able to learn new syllables during their lives or that they use different parts of a given pool of syllables. S ongs recorded within a circle of about 40 km around the study site sho w more similarities than between songs of birds from more distant popu lations. Probably, this area represents the range of regular dispersal .