33. Call matching by male red-winged blackbirds.
5. More about Song Learning
Song (and call) dialects
From page 71 in the book.
Call matching by male red-winged blackbirds. Here's another marsh experience. Settle in and get comfortable, focusing on the calls of one particular male red-winged blackbird. How often does he change from one call to the next? Hear how neighboring males often (how often?) match each other with the same call from their local dialect. Perhaps when they change calls might tell you something about why they change, or why they have such a variety of calls in the first place. You might have to walk around a bit to keep your bird in a calling mood. Does he change calls in any way that is coordinated with your movements, or your relative threat? Compare your local dialect with the three examples from Illinois, Colorado, and Michigan. Similar? Different? Any unique calls that you have never heard anywhere else?