Constant companions: wild zebra finch pairs display extreme spatial cohesion.

Many animals maintain long-term monogamous partnerships, but the extent to which partners associate varies substantially and has implications for the scope of cooperation between pair members. Zebra finches () are monogamously paired for life and maintain continuous partnerships, raising questions as to if and how they maintain pair cohesion despite being non-territorial and having only short-range acoustic signals. While zebra finches are the best-studied songbird in captivity, their social and spatial behaviour in the wild is poorly understood.

The ecology of zebra finch song and its implications for vocal communication in multi-level societies.

Acoustic signalling is crucial in affecting movements and in social interactions. In species with dynamic social structures, such as multi-level societies, acoustic signals can provide a key mechanism allowing individuals to identify and find or avoid each other and to exchange information. Yet, if the spacing between individuals regularly exceeds the maximum signalling range, the relation between movements and signals becomes more complex.

High nest failure in a zebra finch population and persistent nest predation by a monitor lizard.

Predation is well known to have substantial effects on behaviour and fitness in many animals. In songbirds, nest predation is rarely observed directly, so that research focusses primarily on the consequences of predation and less on the behaviour of the predator. Here, we report predation data in a zebra finch () nest box population, highlighting a 22-min-long sequence, captured on video, of a sand goanna () predating a zebra finch nest in the wild.

The social role of song in wild zebra finches.

Male songbirds sing to establish territories and to attract mates. However, increasing reports of singing in non-reproductive contexts and by females show that song use is more diverse than previously considered. Therefore, alternative functions of song, such as social cohesion and synchronization of breeding, by and large, were overlooked even in such well-studied species such as the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata).

Zebra finch song is a very short-range signal in the wild: evidence from an integrated approach.

Birdsong is typically seen as a long-range signal functioning in mate attraction and territory defense. Among birds, the zebra finch is the prime model organism in bioacoustics, yet almost exclusively studied in the lab. In the wild, however, zebra finch song differs strikingly from songbirds commonly studied in the wild as zebra finch males sing most after mating and in the absence of territoriality.

Environmental conditions limit attractiveness of a complex sexual signal in the túngara frog.

Animals choosing particular display sites often balance sexual and natural selection pressures. Here we assess how physical properties of display sites can alter this balance by influencing signal production and attractiveness of the túngara frog (Physalaemus pustulosus). Males that call from very shallow water bodies (few mm depth) benefit from reduced predation risk, but by manipulating water levels, we show that this comes at a cost of reduced attractiveness to females.