Lead: Dr David Wheatcroft, Uppsala University
Summary: Both Pied and Collared Flycatcher nestlings discriminate against the songs of the other species in a mixed-species population in Sweden. This discrimination has a largely genetic basis, which is suggested to maintain species differences in songs across species by biasing what juveniles learn. This project will determine whether co-occurrence with other species drives stronger discrimination in juveniles by collaborating with researchers across Europe, including PiedFly.Net, to evaluate song discrimination in nestlings in multiple locations. This study aims to determine the causes of geographic variation in song discrimination in flycatchers. In addition to information on responses to songs, video recordings of nestling behaviour capture begging calls, begging rates (before and during playback) and begging interactions among nestlings.