Habitats matter: the incidence of and response to fear screams in a habitat generalist, the vinous-throated parrotbill Paradoxornis webbianus

• Published in: Behavioral ecology and sociobiology Vol. 69; no. 10; pp. 1575 - 1584
• Main Authors: Lee, Jin-Won, Lee, Jeong-Yeon, Noh, Hee-Jin, Kim, Myun-Sik, Kim, Kyoung-Hoe, Yoo, Jeong-Chil
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-10-2015; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal communication; Animal Ecology; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Birds; Conspecifics; death; fearfulness; females; flocks; Habitats; humans; Life Sciences; males; montane forests; Mountain forests; Original Article; Taxonomy; vocalization; Zoology; Vinous-throated parrotbill; Habitat generalist; Fear scream; Habitat type; Playback experiment
• ISSN: 0340-5443; 1432-0762
• DOI: 10.1007/s00265-015-1969-y

A fear scream is a specific vocalization produced by many animal taxa including humans when confronted with an immediate threat of death. We studied population variation in the incidence of fear screams and its correlation with habitat type using a habitat generalist bird species, the vinous-throated parrotbill (Paradoxornis webbianus). Playback experiments were also conducted to determine how conspecifics respond to scream calls in this species. Overall, about 21 % of parrotbills consistently produced fear screams while being handled. Neither morphological traits nor flock size was related to screaming tendency, but females tended to scream more than males. The propensity to scream also differed significantly between geographic groups, and, interestingly, this difference was closely related to habitat type; parrotbills in closed habitats such as reedbeds or mountain forests screamed more frequently than those in open habitats. Playback experiments showed that fear screams successfully elicited rapid vocal and behavioral responses from conspecifics. Consistent with the attraction hypothesis, our study suggests that fear screams may function to gather both conspecifics and other species around the caller, which may directly or indirectly disturb the predator, thus giving the caller a chance to escape. The benefits of screaming may be influenced by environmental (e.g., habitat type) and biological (e.g., body mass) factors, which may ultimately account for the variability in propensity for screaming within and between species.