Female signal jamming in a socially monogamous brood parasite.

Acoustic signalling is vital to courtship in many animals, yet the role of female vocalizations is understudied. Here, we combine observational and experimental methods to assess the courtship function of the female chatter call in brown-headed cowbirds, . While the chatter call is likely multifunctional, it is frequently used in social interactions and overlapping duets with males during the breeding season.

Nest prospecting brown-headed cowbirds 'parasitize' social information when the value of personal information is lacking.

Brood parasites face considerable cognitive challenges in locating and selecting host nests for their young. Here, we test whether female brown-headed cowbirds, , could use information acquired from observing the nest prospecting patterns of conspecifics to influence their own patterns of nest selection. In laboratory-based experiments, we created a disparity in the amount of personal information females had about the quality of nests.