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1 June 2015 Probable Interspecific Song Learning in a Florida Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus)
Erin L. Hewett Ragheb, Cody Mezebish, Bernard Lohr
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Abstract

We report a case of probable interspecific song learning in a male Florida Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus), a critically endangered grassland bird. This individual was observed to sing a distinctive song where the second phrase of the song accurately resembled a typical song of a Bachman’s Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis), and the introductory phrase was intermediate between the songs of Bachman’s and Grasshopper sparrows. The exact mechanism of development of this unusual song is unknown, but scarcity of species-typical tutors as a result of rapid population decline may have resulted in interspecific song development. The atypical individual exhibited a strong response to recordings of conspecific song and successfully defended a territory in high-quality habitat but nevertheless appeared to be unpaired. Improper song learning may inhibit mate attraction and qualify as an Allee effect contributing to the extirpation of small populations.

© 2015 The Wilson Ornithological Society
Erin L. Hewett Ragheb, Cody Mezebish, and Bernard Lohr "Probable Interspecific Song Learning in a Florida Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus)," The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 127(2), 277-280, (1 June 2015). https://doi.org/10.1676/wils-127-02-277-280.1
Received: 26 August 2014; Accepted: 1 November 2014; Published: 1 June 2015
KEYWORDS
Allee effect
Ammodramus savannarum
Bachman’s Sparrow
Florida Grasshopper Sparrow
small-population paradigm
song development
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