1. What is the traditional distinction between songs and calls?
2. How does the physical structure of a sound affect the ease with which a listener can
locate its source what sounds are most effective for long-distance communication? Why?
3. Why do forest-dwelling birds tend to produce simple sounds?
4. Why are broadband songs, rich in temporal structure, advantageous in open habitats?
5. What are infrasound’s?
6. What species of bird is known to produce infrasound and why are such sounds ideal for
this species?
7. How many distinct calls do birds generally have?
8. What are some of the functions of these calls?
9. How much variation is there in the size of song repertoires of songbirds?
10. What information do bird vocalizations communicate?
11. How are birds able to identify offspring, parents, mates, and neighbors?
12. What is the avian vocal organ?
13. What is the function of the avian larynx?
14. Be able to describe how the syrinx produces sound.
15. Why does a needle puncture of the interclavicle air sac render a bird voiceless?
16. What is the general function of the syringeal muscles & what type of vocalizations can be
produced by species that lack functional syringeal muscles?
17. What are the long, resonating calls of swans, cranes, and other birds due to?
18. How does the amount of 'brain space' involved in singing behavior vary with repertoire
size?
19. Among birds, in which groups does learning guide vocal development?
20. What happens when other birds, such as chickens, doves, flycatchers, and other sub
oscines, are raised in acoustical isolation?
21. What are the 4 stages of vocal learning and what happens during each?
22. What are the two phases of song development?
23. What are 'open-ended' learners?
24. What are 'age-limited' learners?
25. What happens if a bird is isolated from the model songs of adults during the critical
learning period?
26. What happens if a bird is deafened before song crystallization? Why?
27. What is the role of neural filters in song learning?
28. How do birds develop individual-specific songs?
29. What are regional dialects & what are some examples?
30. How can patterns of geographical song variation develop?
31. What is vocal mimicry & what percentage of passerine birds practice such mimicry?
32. What are the most renowned vocal mimics?
33. How do Mockingbirds enhance their repertoires?
34. What do territorial songs signal?
35. What is the first step toward courtship and pair formation?
36. What are vocal duets?
37. How many species are known to sing duets & where are most such species found?
38. Can female birds use the songs of males to assess the quality of potential mates?
39. Why might long songs and vigorous singing be preferred by females?
40. Do large song repertoires somehow reveal superior male qualities?
41. What are three major aspects of territorial behavior?
42. What are the simplest types of territories?
43. What activities occur in all-purpose territories?
44. What do all-purpose territories enable individual birds to do?
45. How do birds broadcast their presence and intended control of a territory?
46. How can the economics of territorial defense be measured for nectar-feeding birds?
47. What is the relationship between territory size and body mass?
48. Why do territory owners usually win encounters with intruders?
49. How does population density influence territory size?
50. What are the potential costs of territory defense?
51. When is territoriality favored?
52. What 2 features of resource distribution determine whether territories are economically
defensible?
53. Be able to explain how these 2 features influence economic defensibility?
54. What is two examples of birds that defend territories again other species?
55. What is agonistic behavior?
56. How do birds usually avoid direct contact & risk of injury when fighting over something?
57. What do threat displays signal?
58. What do appeasement or submission displays signal?
59. What do graded or variable displays convey?
60. What do the positions of the crest of a Steller's jay signal?
61. What do birds rely on first and foremost for navigational information & what are some
examples of such navigation?
62. Who was the first to provide proof that birds navigate by the sun?
63. What is a key feature of this orientation behavior?
64. How do land birds and waterfowl maintain their direction when they migrate at night?
65. What stellar cues do Indigo Buntings use for orientation?
66. What two sensory systems are used to navigate by Bobolinks?
67. How does the 'direction-finding magnetic compass' work?
68. How does the 'map location system' work?
69. What groups of birds can navigate using odors?
70. How do birds learn to navigate?
71. How do Savannah Sparrows and other nocturnal migrants establish their celestial
compasses?