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Female canaries are sexually responsive to special song phrases

1995; Elsevier BV; Volume: 49; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0003-3472(95)90082-9

1095-8282

Éric Vallet, Michel Kreutzer,

Plant and animal studies

The sexual responsiveness of female canaries, Serinus canaria, to six different types of male song phrases extracted from natural song was tested. Copulation solicitation displays were used as an index of female sexual response. Playbacks were performed several days before and during egg laying (a period of natural sexual responsiveness of the females to song). Female canaries were especially responsive to particular short phrases whose essential features were abrupt frequency fall and short silences. This differential responsiveness occurred whatever the serial position (beginning, middle or end) of the phrase in the song and its serial relationship to other different conspecific phrases as well as the general song context (conspecific or heterospecific phrases). Influences such as early experience or ‘sensory bias’ that may lead to a particular sexual sensitivity of female canaries to these types of song phrases are discussed.