Vocal Communication of Information in Birds

Abstract

Investigations of the display behavior of tyrannid flycatchers suggest that the meaning of a display which is used in different contexts may be different in each context. In the species studied vocalizations seem to be more important than visible displays, and most of the vocalizations are variable in a number of aspects. It seems possible that the different modes of variation of a display are capable of modifying considerably the information content of that display.