Breeding Vocalizations of the Surfbird
Miller EH, Gunn WW, MacLean SF. 1987. Breeding Vocalizations of the Surfbird. The Condor. 89(2):406-412
Breeding Surfbirds (Aphriza virgata) were studied in the Yukon Territory and Alaska. They utter three common call types: Song, Rhythmically Repeated CAll (RRC), and Laugh. RRCs are emitted as bouts during wide-ranging aerial displays, presumably by males. Each RRC is composed of a few brief pulses followed by a long, nearly constant-frequency portion. Bouts average 5.1 RRCs in length; each RRC averages 326 msec long with intervals between of 109 msec. Song is a complex vocalization associated with aerial displays, courtship, and agonistic ground displays. It has a harsh buzzy quality because it contains rapidly repeated broad-band pulses. The Laugh is a train of simple brief elements and is uttered in response to mild disturbance such as approach by a human. Laughs average 929 msec long and contain an average of 3.8 elements. The three call types are similar in structure, temporal organization, and function to those described for other Calidridini and indicate that certain aspects of acoustic organization in the group are phylogenetically old.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Miller, Edward; Gunn, William; MacLean, Stephen
- Units
- CAKN , DENA , WRST , YUCH
- Keywords
- Aphriza virgata, Bioacoustics, Subarctic, Surfbird, Systematics, Vocalization