Aleyna Loughran-Pierce

Abstract Birdsong has historically been characterized as a sexually selected, primarily male behaviour. Recent findings suggest that female song is widespread, raising questions about how social functions of birdsong shape song evolution. Certain social behaviours, such as cooperative breeding, could alter selection pressures on both sexes and potentially influence the evolution of both female and male song.

Abstract Bird song has historically been characterized as a primarily male behavior that evolves through sexual selection pressures involved in mate attraction. More recently, researchers showed that female song is far more prevalent in songbirds than previously thought, raising new questions about how other social functions of birdsong and sexual selection pressures on females might affect song evolution.