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1 The Influence of Bird Species on Mockingbird Responses

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22 Animals that are territorial have the tendency to defend their territories using various means,

23 including fights and attacks on intruder. Animals use displays that seek to advertise their

24 presence and to demonstrate their preparedness to defend their area. This advertisement display

25 may be in the form of dancing, musical sounds, scents, or even urine used to mark territories

26 (Derrickson, 1987). Many species, such as the Northern mockingbirds, Mimus polyglottos and

27 many mammals will produce songs.

28 The mockingbird is a bird species that belong to the group Mimidae. This bird species is

29 widely known because it can mimic different types of sounds, including that of other bird species

30 (Derrickson, 1987). Northern mockingbirds are found in United States, Canada, and Mexico,

31 with some populations in the North migrating southwards for winter. Mockingbirds are territorial

32 species that often use a high perch as a lookout post in their defense efforts (Breitwisch et al.,

33 1986). The birds are more defensive during the breeding seasons and often display aggressive

34 behavior when they encounter intruders (Howard, 1974).Male mockingbirds are larger in size

35 than their female counterparts, and are usually easy to spot because they often forage berries and

36 insects in open areas (Derrickson, 1987).. Known for their singing, the birds have a wide

37 repertoire.

38 Individual repertoires among birds differ among the different bird species (Derrickson,

39 1987). Avian species, for example, produce a many songs that lasts for the breeding season

40 (Howard, 1974).This is also like other birds producing a several song which include the Indigo

41 Buntings, White-throated Sparrows,Zonotrichia albicollis ,Ovenbirds, Seiurus aurocapilla and

42 Common Yellowthroats, Geothlypis trichas Other types of passerines exhibit a much larger

43 repertoire and thus have more than one song type. Three-quarters of bird species have multiple

44 repertoires, with the males known to produce between two and ten different song types.
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45 The Northern Mockingbirds are known for their extraordinarily large repertoires that are

46 estimated to vary in size. Studies conducted in Texas identified 77.0 and 93.9 "syllable patterns”

47 for each male bird (Derrickson, 1987). However, individual repertoires are restrained to range

48 between 45-150, while other studies have identified repertoires in Kansas to have 244 and 213

49 syllable patterns. Variations in the repertoire size are also correlated with the reproductive

50 biology of the birds (Howard, 1974).Estimating the repertoires of individual birds may be

51 difficult for bird species with large repertoires. In the Northern Mockingbirds species, the

52 territorial mockingbirds are known to respond to neighbors with less aggression as compared to

53 strangers, which is a phenomenon known as the "dear-enemy" effect (Howard, 1974).Neighbors

54 will therefore exhibit lower responses to neighbors' songs as opposed to the songs of strangers,

55 which exemplifies the reduced aggression towards neighbors (Derrickson, 1987).

56 Male mockingbirds will perch conspicuously in song posts where they produce songs to

57 announce their presence. Different mockingbird species enjoy making their presence known and

58 will occasionally perch on high branches, fences, high vegetation, and telephone wires as they do

59 so. Whether the birds are in pairs or alone, they will successfully chase off intruders from their

60 territories. By nature, the mockingbird is territorial and will attempt to defend its areas from

61 other mockingbirds and intruders (Breitwisch et al., 1986). While the same sexes take on each

62 other, the encounters between male mockingbirds have the potential to escalate into fights as an

63 attempt to demonstrate their might (Breitwisch et al., 1986). This will often follow the musical

64 repertoires produced.

65 As soon as a boundary has been established, a territorial resident has the privilege of

66 spending less time and effort in protecting the territory through fight encounters. The recognition

67 and responses to neighbors are highly beneficial in the interactions between neighbors (Renee,
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68 1993).Reciprocal altruism exemplifies mutual restraint between birds that are recognizable to

69 each other. In this regard, mutual restraint may be seen to be beneficial to the territorial

70 relationships about reciprocal altruism. Escalation of fights by new neighbors within the territory

71 demonstrates ad results in the mutual acceptance that part and gains from the territory are being

72 relinquished. This refers to a large spacing away from predators and a larger ground and reserve

73 for food.

74 The fact that new neighborhoods may have more to gain from the unilateral expansion of

75 their territory results in challenging their neighbors and returning apparent challenges levels

76 against them by their neighbors (Godard, 1993). However, strangers also invoke and elicit a

77 reaction. The relinquishing of some territory buys the neighbors may also result in a situation

78 where the new territorial boundary is not being respected, and thus the shared boundary would be

79 challenged. Northern mockingbirds are especially useful in experimentation because they are

80 inquisitive, bold, and defend their exclusive winter territories (Farnsworth et al., 2006).

81 Researchers have indicated that different song types among species exhibit large repertoires and

82 thus are fully redundant in the information that is availed in the singing (Derrickson, 1987).

83 Sexual selection is the main force that influences bird songs (Logan, 1983). Two aspects

84 of sexual selection are intersexual competition which affects male selection, and intersexual

85 competition, which is responsible for the defense of the breeding territory. Competition for

86 breeding territories among the mockingbirds is determined by quantitative attributes, which

87 include song and plumage characteristics and qualitative attributes such as aggression (Howard,

88 1974). Northern Mockingbirds often use the wing-raised signal as a response to unfamiliar

89 objects and new experiences (Laskey, 1962). In the winter and the spring seasons, mockingbirds
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90 engage in dance maneuvers that are used to mark and maintain their respective boundaries

91 (Laskey, 1935).

92 With each nesting attempt, the mockingbirds build a new nest and will be used in cases of

93 nest failure or during a clutch overlap. Preceding the nest building, the males will engage in

94 singing which ceases during the nest building and resumes afterward with the initiation of a new

95 breed. The result is a cyclic pattern of producing songs throughout the breeding season where the

96 male engages in singing to signal the breeding season and the nest-building activity (Logan et al.,

97 1990).

98 In the non-breeding season, many passerines defend their territories, whether the

99 territories are temperate zone breeding areas, areas of their permanent residence, or winter-

100 feeding territories (Breitwisch et al., 1986). The northern mockingbird is omnivorous, feeding

101 on both arthropods as well as fruits obtained from trees and shrubs. Walking, sprinting, or

102 leaping along the ground is how most arthropods are caught. Insects flying just above ground

103 are also caught by mockingbirds. For such foraging, short grass is preferable over long grass.

104 Flies straight down onto arthropod at ground killing and massacring prey or transporting it

105 back to perch, from perches.

106 In this study, aggressive mockingbird responses are related to the type of mockingbird

107 sounds. This study aims at understanding the effect of other mocking birds to the response of

108 Northern Mockingbird and also understanding territorial behavior of mockingbirds. It was

109 hypothesized that Northern Mockingbird will respond to sounds of other mockingbirds. It was

110 also predicted that Northern Mockingbird use songs to guard their territories.

111 Methods
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112 The study area was on the quad located at Louisiana State University at Alexandria. The area

113 was selected because of the abundance of the mockingbird population. The area has a vegetative

114 cover which allowed the mockingbirds to perch on trees and shrubs as they moved, fed, and

115 interacted with each other.

116 At the time of the study, there was no precipitation, with the average temperature being

117 30.6°F in the winter season. This is because Mockingbirds are known to sing, particularly in the

118 months of February through to November. It was important to consider research in this period to

119 meet the objectives of the research. The campus habitat is an area consisting of the wooded

120 suburban grassland. The grass was cut every two weeks, which allowed for clear visibility of

121 mockingbirds that foraged the ground. The bird population is habitual to human presence, which

122 means that observing birds using binoculars was an easy event.

123 The main data collection method was the observation of the mockingbirds and recording

124 their songs from the sound that they produced. Once the study area was determined, it was

125 important to undertake active observations, which were done in coordination with the other

126 researchers. We first identified different areas that each researcher was to cover and used our

127 smartphones to communicate with each other regarding the bird's movements. We chose to

128 identify and observe male mockingbirds because of their ability to show aggression to other birds

129 as they are natural territorial defenders. Because it was difficult to undertake the banding of the

130 birds, we chose to begin our observation in the morning, where the males would be easily

131 distinguished from the females since they are vocalized differently.

132 We used paper and pens to record the observations as we watched the behavior of the

133 birds. Additionally, we also used a voice recorder to record the mockingbird's sounds as well as a

134 spotting scope and binoculars, which were used to identify and follow the mockingbird's
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135 behavior. The behavior of each individual mockingbird and those that were in pairs was done

136 every hour. The voice recorder was also used to record the location of the bird, which was

137 subsequently marked on the map as it moved from one area of the territory to another. We did

138 this to ensure that we kept a written record of the bird's movement and to time the movements of

139 the birds.

140 It was important for all the researchers to record two aspects of the bird's behavior, which

141 were the behavioral events and the behavioral states. The behavioral events refer to the

142 instantaneous actions that were exhibited by the bird, which include attacks on opponents and

143 eating actions. On the other hand, the behavioral states involved activities that lasted for a long

144 duration which included resting on a perch, continuous singing, and continued displays to a

145 neighbor at a boundary. We, therefore, counted the time and the duration of all the vents within a

146 particular state, and this was also recorded. We also noted and recorded the beginning and the

147 end of a state using the voice recorder. This will facilitate the measurement of the time the bird

148 spent in a particular behavioral state. We followed the bird as it moved from the place-to-place

149 ad where it disappeared out of sight; this was recorded. Behavioral actions, including perching

150 conspicuously and perching out of sight was, also indicated and noted.

151 We also took note of the locations that determined the source of behavioral events,

152 particularly regarding aggression. We noted the location that prompted the birds to attack and

153 challenge opponents. Other birds present in the area were also identified. This information was

154 useful in determining the territory that was defended by the mockingbird under observation.

155 Information that was necessary for undertaking analysis on the data collected varied.

156 First, we noted the time spent by the bird in each behavioral state, which included the time is

157 spent singing, foraging for food on the ground, perching out of sight, and perching in
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158 conspicuous places. We also identified the length of time that was the time between the

159 emergence of each behavior and the time between the beginning and the end of a behavior. This

160 was recorded as Latency. We also identified the frequencies of the observations, which were

161 used to determine the rates of the observed behavioral events. These included events such as

162 flights, sun-bathing, chasing other species away, chat calls, wing-flashing, swooping, and the

163 food items are eaten.

164 Once the territory has been mapped out, we also obtained additional information

165 regarding the bird's behavior and the limits of its territory, which we also recorded. After this

166 was done, we produced a playback of sounds made by the different mockingbirds and the

167 Carolina Wren. We recorded mockingbirds’ responses to the sounds of the perceived intruder.

168 We ensured that the impressions of the intruding birds made by the playback were loud enough

169 to elicit a response from the mockingbird under observation. We also undertook various

170 recordings in four different rails to measure the sounds produced by the mockingbird.

171 The first trial was the Center-Song, where the songs made by the mockingbird at the

172 center of the territory were recorded for 10 minutes. The second trial involved the boundary song

173 where the sounds made by the mockingbird within the boundary but near the boundary were

174 recorded for 10 minutes. The center-chat was atrial that recorded the chat calls made by the

175 mockingbird at the center of the territory for 10 minutes. The final trial was the recording of the

176 Center-Wren songs that were made by the Center-Wren near the center of the territory and lasted

177 for 10 minutes.

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179 Data Analysis

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180 We analyzed the data using the log-likelihood ratio test. The test was to be used to determine

181 independence for all the contingency tables, behavioral characteristics, and song types. The G-

182 Statistics was used to test the song frequency for each song type found in the behavioral

183 statistics, and this was analyzed against the overall expected occurrence frequency of the

184 behavioral categories. In this regard, the behavioral categories consisted of all songs. We used

185 confidence of 95% and a P-value of .05, which is most appropriate for such experiments.

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187 Literature Cited

188

189 Breitwisch, R., Diaz, M., Natasha Gottlieb, Lee, R., & Zaias, J. (1986). Defense of Fall

190 Territories by Mated and Unmated Northern Mockingbirds in Southern Florida. Journal

191 of Field Ornithology, 57(1), 16–21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4513085

192

193 Breitwisch, R., Diaz, M., & Lee, R. (1987). Foraging Efficiencies and Techniques of Juvenile

194 and Adult Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos). Behavior, 101(1/3), 225–235.

195 http://www.jstor.org/stable/4534598

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197 Derrickson, K. C. (1987). Behavioral correlates of song types of the northern mockingbird

198 (Mimus polyglottos). Ethology, 74(1), 21–32

199
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200 Derrickson, K. C. (1987). Yearly and Situational Changes in the Estimate of Repertoire Size in

201 Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos). The Auk, 104(2), 198–207.

202 http://www.jstor.org/stable/4087025

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204 Farnsworth, G. L., & Jennifer L. Smolinski. (2006). Numerical Discrimination by Wild Northern

205 Mockingbirds. The Condor, 108(4), 953–957. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4122514

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207 Hailman, J. P. (1960). Hostile Dancing and Fall Territory of a Color-Banded Mockingbird. The

208 Condor, 62(6), 464–468. https://doi.org/10.2307/1365593

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210 Howard R. D. (1974). The influence of sexual selection and interspecific competition on

211 mockingbird songs (Mimus polyglottos). Evolution; international journal of organic

212 evolution, 28(3), 428–438. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1974.tb00764.x

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214 Laskey, Amelia R. (1962). Breeding Biology of Mockingbirds. The Auk, 79(4), 596–606.

215 https://doi.org/10.2307/4082641

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217 Laskey, Amelia R. (1935). Mockingbird Life History Studies. The Auk, 52(4), 370–381.

218 https://doi.org/10.2307/4077510

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220 Logan, C. A. (1983). Reproductively Dependent Song Cyclicity in Mated Male Mockingbirds

221 (Mimus polyglottos). The Auk, 100(2), 404–413. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4086535

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223 Logan, C. A., Hyatt, L. E., & Gregorcyk, L. (1990). Song playback initiates nest building during

224 clutch overlap in mockingbirds, Mimus polyglottos. Animal Behavior, 39(5), 943–953.

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226 Renee Godard. (1993). Tit for Tat among Neighboring Hooded Warblers. Behavioral Ecology

227 and Sociobiology, 33(1), 45–50. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4600846