Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Feekes F. (1977) Colony-specific song in Cacicus cela (Icteridae, Aves): the pass- word hypothesis. ARDEA 65 (3-4): 197-202
Colony-specific song in Cacicus cela is a temporary song variation, shared for some time by all males in a breeding colony. Adult males adjust their songs to that of other males, but it is not known which males imitate and which are imitated. In colonies with more than one song type, individual males sing at least two and sometimes all song types. The function of this Colony-specific song cannot be assessed with the available data. A hypothesis is presented suggesting that the song acts as a pass-word, in the sense that users are included in the social system, and non-users are repelled.


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