Seasonal change in the daily song activity of the Meadow Bunting

Abstract

From 1991 to 2001, seasonal change in the daily song activity of the Meadow Buntings was observed throughout the daytime on a total of 158 days, in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture. After the period of being single in the spring, the song frequency of all individuals decreased during the pairing period and decreased again after the incubation period during the nestling period. Moreover, the song frequency of all birds increased during the period when they were single after the nestling period and during the nest building period after the pairing period. Compared with the period immediately before the molt, song frequency decreased by ≥ 90% in all four individuals during the molting period during early and mid August. The number of song bouts differed greatly throughout the year and even among days of the same breeding stage. The results suggest that the presence and behavior of females and the roles of males during each breeding stage may affect song frequency in this species.