To sing or not to sing: seasonal changes in singing vary with personality in wild great tits

Marc Naguib, Erica P. van Rooij, Lysanne Snijders and Kees van Oers

Behavioral Ecology, 2016, vol. 27, issue 3, 932-938

Abstract: Lay Summary Male birds sing to attract a mate and to defend a territory. This study shows that seasonal changes in singing depend on male personality: More explorative (bolder) male great tits increased singing during key periods of female reproduction more than did slower exploring (shyer) males. These findings highlight that not only quality traits but also personality need to be integrated when assessing causes of variation in the expression of sexually selected signals.

Keywords: animal personality; birdsong; dawn song; exploration behavior; Parus major (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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