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The Journal of Experimental Biology 206, 1833-1843 (2003)
doi: 10.1242/jeb.00364

Mechanisms of frequency and amplitude modulation in ring dove song

Gabriël J. L. Beckers^1,*, Roderick A. Suthers² and Carel ten Cate¹

¹ Behavioural Biology, Institute of Evolutionary and Ecological Sciences, Leiden University, PO Box 9516, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
² School of Medicine, Department of Biology and Program for Neuroscience, Jordan Hall, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: gabecker{at}indiana.edu)

Accepted 6 March 2003

Birdsong assumes its complex and specific forms by the modulation of phonation in frequency and time domains. The organization of control mechanisms and intrinsic properties causing such modulation have been studied in songbirds but much less so in non-songbirds, the songs of which are often regarded as relatively simple. We examined mechanisms of frequency and amplitude modulation of phonation in ring doves Streptopelia risoria, which are non-songbirds. Spontaneous coo vocalizations were recorded together with concurrent pressure patterns in two different air sacs and air flow rate in the trachea. The results show that amplitude modulation is the result of the cyclic opening and closure of a valve instead of fluctuations in driving pressure, as is the current explanation. Frequency modulation is more complex than previously recognized and consists of gradual, continuous time–frequency patterns, punctuated by instantaneous frequency jumps. Gradual frequency modulation patterns correspond to pressure variation in the interclavicular air sac but not to pressure variation in the cranial thoracic air sac or air flow rate variation in the trachea. The cause of abrupt jumps in frequency has not been identified but can be explained on the basis of intrinsic properties of the vocal organ. Air sac pressure variation as a mechanism for frequency modulation contrasts with the specialized syringeal musculature of songbirds and may explain why the fundamental frequency in non-songbird vocalizations is generally modulated within a limited frequency range.

Key words: birdsong, phonation, amplitude modulation, frequency, air sac pressure, non-songbird, Streptopelia risoria, ring dove.

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