Diurnal and seasonal rhythms of singing in birds: species-specific patterns and problems of coexistence

摘要

Diurnal and seasonal rhythms of singing in birds belonging to the same acoustic assemblage were investigated by means of multiple census along the constant string during May-July 1997 in Manturovo district of Kostromskaya oblast (Russia, 58 deg 10, 44 deg 25). The regressions models were fitted to the data on the diurnal and seasonal patterns of singing in Acrocephalus dumetorum, A. palustris, Sylvia communis, S. borin, Luscinia luscinia, Locustella fluviatilis, Phylloscopus trochilus, Carpodacus erythrinus, and Fringilla coelebs. The interspecific distances were estimated by means of multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Luscinia and Locustella were found to be most closely interrelated due to similarity of their diurnal singing patterns. Also A. dumetorum adjusts in multidimensional space most closely to Luscinia and Locustella while A. palustris stays more far away. These four species show a strong tendency to day round vocal activity and are different in this respect from the rest of the species whose singing was recorded exclusively during daily hours.