It’s a sing-off! Myth-busting about birds and sex when it comes to defending the nest

Each spring, birds across America are in full voice. Cardinals chatter, sparrows sing and warblers warble. Birdsong lifts the human spirit – “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers,” after all. Yet birds are not singing to soothe our nerves after a stressful day at the office. Instead, they sing to defend their territories and attract mates. The traditional view of birdsong focuses on the male bird: He is like a gladiator who fiercely defends his territory against rivals to ensure sufficient space and resources to feed and raise his chicks. Female birds, on the other hand, are often thought to be quiet spectators when it comes to territorial defense. This holds true for the red-winged blackbird and many other North American birds. But it is far from the complete picture. Female rose-breasted grosbeaks and many other birds sing and defend territories across the globe. The growing recognition that females often participate in territorial defense leads to a puzzle: If two is better than one, why do male-female pairs cooperate to defend territories in some species, while just the male defends home turf in other species? To find out, we performed over 3,000 playback experiments across the Americas, playing recorded bird…

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