Cooperation and recognition
Group or individual "signatures" can allow for recognition and facilitate cooperation in different species, particularly among cooperative breeders as well as socially monogamous species which forage together during the non-breeding season.
In 2009-2011, I studied superb starlings, Lamprotornis superbus, in Laikipia, Kenya. These bird live in large social groups that can sometimes include dozens of individuals. Within a social group, only a few birds breed and produce offspring, the other group members act as helpers, bringing food to chicks in the nest and assisting in defending the territory against predators or intruders. I recorded calls from birds in several social groups and showed that not only do calls signal group membership, but they also indicate individual identity. Females, which leave disperse from their natal territory and join different social groups, adjust their calls to match those of their new group mates, demonstrating open-ended vocal learning that is characteristic of mimics.
Advisor: Dr. Dustin Rubenstein