Why do many migratory bird species that breed in Europe sing extravagant songs on their wintering grounds in tropical Africa, thousands of miles away from where they attract their mates? Dr Marjorie Sorensen‘s PhD field research on great reed warblers (left) in Zambia points to an intriguing answer: they’re practicing! Read more in articles about the study in New Scientist, The Atlantic and Science News or in the original paper by Marjorie Sorensen, Susanne Jenni-Eiermann and Claire Spottiswoode, available in The American Naturalist.
New paper on categorical signatures of identity
Our paper “Categorical identity signatures can reduce host error rates during brood parasitism” has been published in the journal PLoS Biology.