Akaike's information criterion (AIC) is increasingly being used in analyses in the field of
ecology. This measure allows one to compare and rank multiple competing models and to …

This chapter addresses the interplay of vocal performance, sensorimotor learning, and vocal
evolution in songbirds. Vocal performance is increasingly recognized as an influential factor …

A growing number of studies ask whether and how bird songs vary between areas with low
versus high levels of anthropogenic noise. Across numerous species, birds are seen to sing …

Using the responses of territory owners to playback to infer the territorial function of acoustic
signals is common practice. However, difficulties with interpreting the results of such …

Songbirds often sing at higher frequency (pitch) in urban, noise-polluted areas, which
reduces acoustic masking by low-frequency anthropogenic noise. Such frequency shifts …

Sexually selected traits are shaped by an interaction between sexual selection and other
natural selection pressures in the environment. However, there is little understanding of how …

Studies of trilled vocalizations provide a premiere illustration of how performance constraints
shape the evolution of mating displays. In trill production, vocal tract mechanics impose a …

Sexual signals are often elaborate as a result of sexual selection for signals of individual
quality. Contrary to expectation, however, the elaboration of signals such as birdsong is not …

Syllable rate has been shown to play a role in male–male aggressive interactions and has
been proposed to serve as a male quality indicator in several bird species. In those with fast …

Highlights•We introduce a new method for quantifying vocal performance,'frequency
excursion'.•We apply this method to sample questions about vocal performance in three …