Multiple parameters in the territorial coo of the collared dove: Interactions and meaning

The perch-coo of the collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is used as a ter ritorial signal. We investigated the perception of acoustic variation in th e coos by testing the responsiveness to playback in the field. Earlier expe riments showed that both temporal and spectral features played an important role in eliciting a behavioural response. In the present study, we used pl ayback experiments to examine whether the impact of temporal features inter acts with the impact of spectral features. We show that the increased respo nse level elicited by the presence of frequency modulations is independent of the positioning of frequency modulations within a coo. We conclude that the individual parameters contribute relatively independently of each other to the response. Furthermore, we, discuss the functional interpretation of the behavioural response to temporal and spectral features. The nature of inter- and intra-specific variation, and the impact on playback responses m ay suggest that particular parameters contribute primarily to one function, whereas other features contribute primarily to another. Nevertheless, func tions, such as species recognition and quality assessment, may depend on mu ltiple parameters, and there is no evidence for different functions to be s eparated in specialized processing centres. The concepts of species recogni tion and quality assessment have to be regarded as labels attached to a par ticular part of the range of the behavioural response.