Vocal behaviour of Crested Francolin <i>Dendroperdix sephaena</i> in response to playback calls

Abstract

The Crested Francolin Dendroperdix sephaena is a common gamebird in sub-Saharan Africa but its vocal behaviour is poorly recorded. A fixed area (24 km²) in the Borakalalo National Park (North West province, South Africa) was traversed during December 2007 to January 2009 and 140 Crested Francolin groups were enticed with playback calls and their calls recorded. The coveys were recorded to identify different calls and to capture statistics on call characteristics during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. Sonograms were produced to analyse and compare the structural characteristics of calls. The Crested Francolin possesses a basic communication system of eight distinctive calls that is similar to the repertoire size of other non-passerines. The duet is a cooperative call by a male and female to advertise, among other functions, territorial occupancy. Males produce a call similar to but different from the duet that advertises reproductive neutrality to avoid physical clashes. Male and female calls could be mate selection tools in dense bush that optimise the chance of fit males and females that roam in the population to pair.

OSTRICH 2010, 81(2): 149–154