Female song rarely has been examined in suboscines. This paper describes the context and structure of female Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus) songs. During two years, we observed 4 of 19 females singing, and although singing occurred infrequently, it occurred predominantly at the nest during incubation and brooding. Analysis of five songs from one female showed that the mean of this female's songs fell below the distribution of male songs for the internote interval, the minimum and maximum frequency, the frequency range, and the frequency at maximum amplitude of the first note of the two-note song. These results differ from other studies showing no sex differences in song structure of tyrannid flycatchers, suggesting further analyses of female song are warranted.
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1 September 2003
SONG STRUCTURE MAY DIFFER BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE LEAST FLYCATCHERS
MICHAEL M. KASUMOVIC,
LAURENE M. RATCLIFFE,
PETER T. BOAG
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