Although many studies have focused on the complex call and song systems of the black-capped chickadee, relatively fewer studies have focused on chickadee audition. The black-capped chickadee is a songbird that has been used extensively as a model of animal communication in field and laboratory settings. Here we provide key examples that effectively show the wide range of abilities possessed and used by songbirds. Some of our most recent work has moved into the realm of conceptual knowledge, with studies aimed at understanding birds' ability to deal with concepts of sameness and danger (i.e., threat level). ![]() More recent work has moved towards understanding functional vocal categories such as sex, dominance, species, and geography. Our first studies provided us with an understanding of songbird vocal category production and perception, clarifying perceptual categorization and the underlying mechanisms. We have studied category perception of vocal communication signals in songbirds for over 20 years. ![]() In fact, Herrnstein was even more direct, stating that categorization had "turned up at every level of the animal kingdom where it has been competently sought" (p. However, contrary to our predictions, we did not find any effects of altering the duty cycle or note number presented.Ĭategory perception, as Herrnstein (1990) defined it, is a powerful and pervasive cognitive ability possessed by every species in which it has been adequately tested. We found no significant difference between forward-playing 2 D and 10 D high duty cycle playbacks. Based on the behavioral results of Wilson and Mennill, 2011, we predicted we would observe the highest ZENK expression in response to forward-playing calls with high duty cycles we predicted we would observe no significant difference in ZENK expression between forward-playing high duty cycle playbacks (2 D or 10 D). We then measured ZENK expression in the auditory nuclei where perceptual discrimination is thought to occur. Here we presented chickadees with chick-a-dee calls that contained either two D (referred to hereafter as 2 D) notes with a low duty cycle, 2 D notes with a high duty cycle, 10 D notes with a high duty cycle, or 2 D notes with a high duty cycle but played in reverse (a non-signaling control). That is, independent of the number of D notes in a call, but dependent on the overall proportion of time filled with vocalization, birds responded more to higher duty cycle playback compared to lower duty cycle playback. ![]() ![]() Wilson and Mennill (2011) found that chickadees show stronger behavioral responses to playback of chick-a-dee calls with higher duty cycles, but not to the number of D notes. For example, duty cycle (the proportion of time filled by voca-lizations) and fine structure traits (e.g., number of D notes) can encode contextual factors, such as predator size and food quality. Black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) use their namesake chick-a-dee call for multiple functions, altering the features of the call depending on context.
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