AVIS-IBIS

Birds of Indian Subcontinent

Geographic Variation in Vocalizations and Evolution of North American Pine Grosbeaks

Publication Type:Journal Article
Year of Publication:1981
Authors:Adkisson, CS
Journal:The Condor
Volume:83
Issue:4
Date Published:1981
ISBN Number:00105422
Keywords:Fringillidae, Pinicola, Pinicola enucleator
Abstract:North American Pine Grosbeaks (Pinicola enucleator) vary geographically in two of their call notes. Variation is greatest in the location calls that communicate between individuals at great distances. Birds of the taiga and coastal Alaska give whistled calls, of which four categories have been identified. Western montane and Queen Charlotte Islands birds give more complex, modulated calls, which vary greatly among localities. Taiga and montane birds do not approach playback of each other's calls, though wild birds usually respond quickly to playback of their own calls. Cross-fostering experiments show that the location call can be entirely learned in the first weeks of life, suggesting that the observed variation in nature arose in association with isolation of small, possibly founder, populations. No selective agent leading to call variation has been identified, but vegetation structure is discounted as a factor.
URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/1367494
Short Title:The Condor
Taxonomic name: 
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith