Opposites do not attract

Budgerigars, small Australian parrots commonly kept as pets, produce highly variable contact calls. Previous research showed that male budgerigars spontaneously imitate the calls of females that are potential mates. In addition, females were known to prefer males that had been trained to produce calls similar to theirs. The current study is important because it shows that female budgerigars preferentially pair with males that sound like them at their first meeting, before any imitation has occurred.

Parrots display a gift, rare among most animals, of learning new vocalizations throughout their lifetime. A highly social, monogamous species, the budgerigar likely uses multiple aspects of vocalizations when choosing mates and maintaining long-term relationships. This study adds to our understanding of the social functions of vocal learning. It also provides an interesting avian example of a familiar mate choice strategy: choosing a mate with whom you have something in common.

Citation: Marin L. Moravec, Georg F. Striedter, and Nancy Tyler Burley (2006). Assortative Pairing Based on Contact Call Similarity in Budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulatus. Ethology 112, 1108-1116.

Source: Blackwell Publishing Ltd