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Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology
The Rattle Call: A Female-Specific Vocalization In Steller's Jays, Kachina L. Rowland
The Rattle Call: A Female-Specific Vocalization In Steller's Jays, Kachina L. Rowland
Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects
While the elaborate songs of male passerines are well documented for their role in intrasexual resource competition and mate attraction, vocalizations used in female competition are poorly understood. Research has suggested that the female-specific rattle call of Steller’s jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) is used in competition for access to a territory and mate. I describe structural properties of the rattle call, and compare life history traits of individual females to rattle call occurrence. I used two rates to quantify rattle call occurrence from 20 females: rattles per observation period (RPO), and proportion of observations with a rattle call (POR) …