Differential response of the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) to heterospecific calls

Abstract

For many bird species, auditory signals of conspecifics represent a valuable source of information about habitat quality, resource availability, and potential risks in their environments. Some species can also recognize and interpret signals from heterospecifics, thus improving their perception of the environment. Such is the case of the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia), which uses the alarm vocalizations of the Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilensis) as an indicator of potential risk. We carried out an experimental field study to determine if burrowing owls differentially respond to lapwing sounds when compared to other sympatric birds. We exposed burrowing owl individuals to a random sequence of sounds that included three treatments: alarm calls from Southern Lapwing, Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus), and Rufous Hornero (Furnarius rufus), and recorded their responses as alert or relaxed behaviors. We found a differential response of burrowing owls to lapwings’ vocalizations over those of parakeets and horneros. This response was verified by a longer duration of the alert state, an increase in the frequency of vigilance events, and a longer recovery time towards the relaxed state after the lapwings’ sound treatment. The Burrowing Owl-Lapwing association could respond to a mutually beneficial interaction: owls could improve their perception of predation risk by relying on lapwings’ alarm calls as an early warning of danger, and lapwings might obtain a higher level of protection by associating with a top predator.