In the new project we will look at what information other males get from the song. Can the song switching of polyterritorial males be a signal to other males?
Males will be tested using playback of songs from previous recordings of males that were unpaired at the time of recording and recordings from the same males singing on their secondary territory to compare the response to songs with different song switching rates. The response to playback may also be affected by the males’ own quality. Therefore the response will be correlated with the males’ quality and their reproductive success.
The field work will be done in a nestbox population of pied flycatchers in S?rkedalen. Males will be caught on arrival from end of April and body measures taken (size, body condition, plumage colour). They will be followed throughout the breeding season to get data on pairing status and breeding success.