Dialectos de canto del Chingolo (Zonotrichia capensis) al norte y al sur de la Laguna Mar Chiquita, Provincia de Córdoba, Argentina

Agustin I. Casale; Darío A. Lijtmaer; Pablo L. Tubaro

doi:10.56178/eh.v40i1.1513

Articles Published 22 August 2025 https://doi.org/10.56178/eh.v40i1.1513

Song dialects of the Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) north and south of Laguna Mar Chiquita, Córdoba Province, Argentina

acoustic adaptation Ansenuza National Park dialects learning Rufous-collared Sparrow vocal variation

Agustin I. Casale División Ornitología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” (MACN-CONICET). Av. Angel Gallardo 470, 1405 CABA, Argentina

Darío A. Lijtmaer División Ornitología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” (MACN-CONICET). Av. Angel Gallardo 470, 1405 CABA, Argentina

Pablo L. Tubaro División Ornitología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” (MACN-CONICET). Av. Angel Gallardo 470, 1405 CABA, Argentina

Abstract

Songs of many bird species vary among sites, giving rise to dialects. Here, we describe for the first time the song variation of the Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) in Ansenuza National Park, Córdoba Province. To this end, spontaneous songs of sparrows were recorded in 2024 and 2025 in the locality of Isla Larga and supplemented with existing recordings from major sound libraries (Macaulay Library and Xeno-Canto). A qualitative analysis revealed that the songs from Isla Larga have a unique trill variant that ends with an unmodulated, low-frequency tonal note that has never been recorded before in Argentina. This variant has also been detected in Mitre Department, in Santiago del Estero province. These songs also differ acoustically from those recorded south of the lagoon, in the locality of Miramar. In particular, the northern songs (Isla Larga/Mitre) feature significantly faster trills (with shorter temporal intervals between notes), a greater number of notes, lower frequencies and narrower bandwidths than those from Miramar. We discuss possible factors that may have given rise to these differences, as well as their implication for long-distance communication.

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References

Baker MC (1975) Song dialects and genetic differences in White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys). Evolution 29:226-241. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1975.tb00203.x
Baptista LF (1975) Song dialects and demes in sedentary populations of the White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli). University of California Publications in Zoology 105:1-52
Brumm H, Zollinger SA (2013) Avian vocal production in noise. Pp. 187–227 en Brumm H (ed) Animal communication and noise. Springer Science & Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41494-7
Bucher EH (2019) The Mar Chiquita Salt Lake (Córdoba, Argentina). Pp. 1-149. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15812-5
Bucher EH, Marcellino AJ, Ferreyra CA, Molli ÁF (2006) Historia del poblamiento humano. Pp. 15–27 en Bucher EH (ed) Bañados del Río Dulce y Laguna Mar Chiquita. Córdoba‑Argentina. Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Córdoba‑Argentina
Egli W (1971) Investigaciones sobre el canto de Zonotrichia capensis chilensis (Meyen) (Aves, Passeriformes). Boletín Museo Nacional de Historia Natural 32:173-190. https://doi.org/10.54830/bmnhn.v32.1971.557
García NC, Arrieta RS, Kopuchian C, Tubaro PL (2015) Stability and change through time in the dialects of a Neotropical songbird, the Rufous-collared Sparrow. Emu-Austral Ornithology 115(4):309-316. https://doi.org/10.1071/MU14099
Handford P (1981) Vegetational correlates of variation in the song of Zonotrichia capensis. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 8:203-206. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299831
Handford P (1988) Trill rate dialects in the rufous-collared sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis, in northwestern Argentina. Canadian Journal of Zoology 66(12):2658-2670. https://doi.org/10.1139/z88-391
Handford P, Lougheed SC (1991) Variation in duration and frequency characters in the song of the rufous-collared sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis, with respect to habitat, trill dialects and body size. The Condor 93(3):644-658. https://doi.org/10.2307/1368196
Handford P, Nottebohm F (1976) Allozymic and morphological variation in population samples of Rufous-collared Sparrows, Zonotrichia capensis, in relation to vocal dialects. Evolution 30:802-817. https://doi.org/10.2307/2407819
Hansen P (1979) Vocal learning: its role in adapting sound structures to long distance propagation, and a hypothesis on its evolution. Animal Behaviour 27:1270-1271. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-3472(79)90073-3
King JR (1972) Variation in the song of the rufous‑collared sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis, in northwestern Argentina. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 30(4):344–373. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1972.tb00863.x
King JR (1974) Notes on geographical variation and the annual cycle in Patagonian populations of the Rufous‑collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis. Ibis 116(1): 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919x.1974.tb00224.x
Lijtmaer DA, Tubaro PL (2007) A reversed pattern of association between song dialects and habitat in the rufous-collared sparrow. The Condor 109(3):658-667. https://doi.org/10.1093/condor/109.3.658
Marler P (1970) A comparative approach to vocal learning: Song development in White-crowned Sparrows. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology Monograph 71:1-25. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0029144
Marler P, Tamura M (1964) Culturally transmitted patterns of vocal behavior in sparrows. Science 146:1483-1486. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.146.3650.1483
Marten K, Marler P (1977) Sound transmission and its significance for animal vocalization: I. Temperate habitats. Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2:271-290. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00299740
Morton ES (1975) Ecological sources of selection on avian sounds. American Naturalist 109:17–34. https://doi.org/10.1086/282971
Mundinger PC (1982) Microgeographic and macrogeographic variation in the acquired vocalizations of birds. Pp 147–208 en: Kroodsma DE, Miller EH, Ouellet H (eds) Acoustic communication in birds. Vol 2. Academic Press, New York, London
Nottebohm F (1969) The song of the chingolo, Zonotrichia capensis, in Argentina: Description and evaluation of a system of dialects. The Condor 71(3):299-315. https://doi.org/10.2307/1366306
Nottebohm F (1975) Continental patterns of song variability in Zonotrichia capensis: some possible ecological correlates. The American Naturalist 109(970):605-624. https://doi.org/10.1086/283033
Nottebohm F (1985) Sound transmission, signal salience, and song dialects. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 8(1):112-113. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x00019919
Pagot M, Hillman G, Pozzi-Pacenza C, Gyssels P, Patalano A, Rodriguez A (2014) Elevación máxima del agua en la laguna Mar Chiquita, Córdoba, Argentina. Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua 5:119-133
R Core Team (2021) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/
RStudio Team (2020) RStudio: Integrated Development Environment for R. RStudio, PBC, Boston, MA. URL http://www.rstudio.com/
K Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (2014) Raven Pro: Interactive Sound Analysis Software (Version 1.6) [Computer software]. Ithaca, NY: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Available from https://www.ravensoundsoftware.com/
Richards DG, Wiley RH (1980) Reverberations and amplitude fluctuations in the propagation of sound in a forest: implications for animal communication. American Naturalist 115:381–399. https://doi.org/10.1086/283568
Ryan MJ, Brenowitz EA (1985) The role of body size, phylogeny, and ambient noise in the evolution of bird song. American Naturalist 126:87–100
Tubaro PL, Handford, PT, Segura ET (1997) Aprendizaje del canto en el chingolo (Zonotrichia capensis). El Hornero 14(4):204-210. https://doi.org/10.56178/eh.v14i4.965
Tubaro PL, Segura ET (1994) Dialect differences in the song of Zonotrichia capensis in the southern Pampas: a test of the acoustic adaptation hypothesis. The Condor 96(4):1084-1088. https://doi.org/10.2307/1369117
Tubaro PL, Segura ET, Handford P (1993) Geographic variation in the song of the Rufous-collared Sparrow in eastern Argentina. The Condor 95(3):588-595. https://doi.org/10.2307/1369603
Wiley RH (2015) Noise Matters. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England
Wiley RH, Richards DG (1978) Physical constraints on acoustic communication in the atmosphere. Implications for the evolution of animal vocalizations. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 3:69–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00300047
Williams H (2021) Mechanisms of cultural evolution in the songs of wild bird populations. Frontiers in Psychology 12:643343. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643343

How to cite

Agustin I. Casale, Darío A. Lijtmaer, Pablo L. Tubaro (2025). Song dialects of the Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) north and south of Laguna Mar Chiquita, Córdoba Province, Argentina. El Hornero, Vol. 40 No. 1 (2025), 73-80. https://doi.org/10.56178/eh.v40i1.1513

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[1] Baker MC (1975) Song dialects and genetic differences in White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys). Evolution 29:226-241. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1975.tb00203.x

[2] Baptista LF (1975) Song dialects and demes in sedentary populations of the White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli). University of California Publications in Zoology 105:1-52

[3] Brumm H, Zollinger SA (2013) Avian vocal production in noise. Pp. 187–227 en Brumm H (ed) Animal communication and noise. Springer Science & Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41494-7

[4] Bucher EH (2019) The Mar Chiquita Salt Lake (Córdoba, Argentina). Pp. 1-149. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15812-5

[5] Bucher EH, Marcellino AJ, Ferreyra CA, Molli ÁF (2006) Historia del poblamiento humano. Pp. 15–27 en Bucher EH (ed) Bañados del Río Dulce y Laguna Mar Chiquita. Córdoba‑Argentina. Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Córdoba‑Argentina

[6] Egli W (1971) Investigaciones sobre el canto de Zonotrichia capensis chilensis (Meyen) (Aves, Passeriformes). Boletín Museo Nacional de Historia Natural 32:173-190. https://doi.org/10.54830/bmnhn.v32.1971.557

[7] García NC, Arrieta RS, Kopuchian C, Tubaro PL (2015) Stability and change through time in the dialects of a Neotropical songbird, the Rufous-collared Sparrow. Emu-Austral Ornithology 115(4):309-316. https://doi.org/10.1071/MU14099

[8] Handford P (1981) Vegetational correlates of variation in the song of Zonotrichia capensis. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 8:203-206. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299831

[9] Handford P (1988) Trill rate dialects in the rufous-collared sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis, in northwestern Argentina. Canadian Journal of Zoology 66(12):2658-2670. https://doi.org/10.1139/z88-391

[10] Handford P, Lougheed SC (1991) Variation in duration and frequency characters in the song of the rufous-collared sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis, with respect to habitat, trill dialects and body size. The Condor 93(3):644-658. https://doi.org/10.2307/1368196

[11] Handford P, Nottebohm F (1976) Allozymic and morphological variation in population samples of Rufous-collared Sparrows, Zonotrichia capensis, in relation to vocal dialects. Evolution 30:802-817. https://doi.org/10.2307/2407819

[12] Hansen P (1979) Vocal learning: its role in adapting sound structures to long distance propagation, and a hypothesis on its evolution. Animal Behaviour 27:1270-1271. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-3472(79)90073-3

[13] King JR (1972) Variation in the song of the rufous‑collared sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis, in northwestern Argentina. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 30(4):344–373. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1972.tb00863.x

[14] King JR (1974) Notes on geographical variation and the annual cycle in Patagonian populations of the Rufous‑collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis. Ibis 116(1): 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919x.1974.tb00224.x

[15] Lijtmaer DA, Tubaro PL (2007) A reversed pattern of association between song dialects and habitat in the rufous-collared sparrow. The Condor 109(3):658-667. https://doi.org/10.1093/condor/109.3.658

[16] Marler P (1970) A comparative approach to vocal learning: Song development in White-crowned Sparrows. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology Monograph 71:1-25. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0029144

[17] Marler P, Tamura M (1964) Culturally transmitted patterns of vocal behavior in sparrows. Science 146:1483-1486. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.146.3650.1483

[18] Marten K, Marler P (1977) Sound transmission and its significance for animal vocalization: I. Temperate habitats. Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2:271-290. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00299740

[19] Morton ES (1975) Ecological sources of selection on avian sounds. American Naturalist 109:17–34. https://doi.org/10.1086/282971

[20] Mundinger PC (1982) Microgeographic and macrogeographic variation in the acquired vocalizations of birds. Pp 147–208 en: Kroodsma DE, Miller EH, Ouellet H (eds) Acoustic communication in birds. Vol 2. Academic Press, New York, London

[21] Nottebohm F (1969) The song of the chingolo, Zonotrichia capensis, in Argentina: Description and evaluation of a system of dialects. The Condor 71(3):299-315. https://doi.org/10.2307/1366306

[22] Nottebohm F (1975) Continental patterns of song variability in Zonotrichia capensis: some possible ecological correlates. The American Naturalist 109(970):605-624. https://doi.org/10.1086/283033

[23] Nottebohm F (1985) Sound transmission, signal salience, and song dialects. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 8(1):112-113. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x00019919

[24] Pagot M, Hillman G, Pozzi-Pacenza C, Gyssels P, Patalano A, Rodriguez A (2014) Elevación máxima del agua en la laguna Mar Chiquita, Córdoba, Argentina. Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua 5:119-133

[25] R Core Team (2021) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/

[26] RStudio Team (2020) RStudio: Integrated Development Environment for R. RStudio, PBC, Boston, MA. URL http://www.rstudio.com/

[27] K Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (2014) Raven Pro: Interactive Sound Analysis Software (Version 1.6) [Computer software]. Ithaca, NY: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Available from https://www.ravensoundsoftware.com/

[28] Richards DG, Wiley RH (1980) Reverberations and amplitude fluctuations in the propagation of sound in a forest: implications for animal communication. American Naturalist 115:381–399. https://doi.org/10.1086/283568

[29] Ryan MJ, Brenowitz EA (1985) The role of body size, phylogeny, and ambient noise in the evolution of bird song. American Naturalist 126:87–100

[30] Tubaro PL, Handford, PT, Segura ET (1997) Aprendizaje del canto en el chingolo (Zonotrichia capensis). El Hornero 14(4):204-210. https://doi.org/10.56178/eh.v14i4.965

[31] Tubaro PL, Segura ET (1994) Dialect differences in the song of Zonotrichia capensis in the southern Pampas: a test of the acoustic adaptation hypothesis. The Condor 96(4):1084-1088. https://doi.org/10.2307/1369117

[32] Tubaro PL, Segura ET, Handford P (1993) Geographic variation in the song of the Rufous-collared Sparrow in eastern Argentina. The Condor 95(3):588-595. https://doi.org/10.2307/1369603

[33] Wiley RH (2015) Noise Matters. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England

[34] Wiley RH, Richards DG (1978) Physical constraints on acoustic communication in the atmosphere. Implications for the evolution of animal vocalizations. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 3:69–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00300047

[35] Williams H (2021) Mechanisms of cultural evolution in the songs of wild bird populations. Frontiers in Psychology 12:643343. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643343