Basic kinematic and detailed physical mechanisms of avian, non-vocal sound production are both unknown. Here, for the first time, field-generated high-speed video recordings and acoustic analyses are used to test numerous competing hypotheses of the kinematics underlying sonations, or non-vocal communicative sounds, produced by two genera of Pipridae, Manacus and Pipra (Aves). Eleven behaviorally and acoustically distinct sonations are characterized, five of which fall into a specific acoustic class of relatively loud, brief, broad-frequency sound pulses, or snaps. The hypothesis that one kinematic mechanism of snap production is used within and between birds in general, and manakins specifically, is rejected. Instead, it is verified that three of four competing hypotheses of the kinematic mechanisms used for producing snaps, namely: (1). above-the-back wing-against-wing claps, (2). wing-against-body claps and (3). wing-into-air flicks, are employed between these two clades, and a fourth mechanism, (4). wing-against-tail feather interactions, is discovered. The kinematic mechanisms used to produce snaps are invariable within each identified sonation, despite the fact that a diversity of kinematic mechanisms are used among sonations. The other six sonations described are produced by kinematic mechanisms distinct from those used to create snaps, but are difficult to distinguish from each other and from the kinematics of flight. These results provide the first detailed kinematic information on mechanisms of sonation in birds in general, and the Pipridae specifically. Further, these results provide the first evidence that acoustically similar avian sonations, such as brief, broad frequency snaps, can be produced by diverse kinematic means, both among and within species. The use of high-speed video recordings in the field in a comparative manner documents the diversity of kinematic mechanisms used to sonate, and uncovers a hidden, sexually selected radiation of behavioral and communicative diversity in the Pipridae.
Birds do have a larynx, but unlike in mammals, it does not vocalize. The position of the syrinx, structure and musculature varies widely across bird groups
The syrinx (from Ancient Greek σῦριγξ (súrinx) 'pan pipes') is the vocal organ of birds. Located at the base of a bird's trachea, it produces sounds without the vocal folds of mammals. The sound is produced by vibrations of some or all of the membrana tympaniformis (the walls of the syrinx) and the pessulus, caused by air flowing through the syrinx. This sets up a self-oscillating system that mod
The syrinx (from Ancient Greek σῦριγξ (súrinx) 'pan pipes') is the vocal organ of birds. Located at the base of a bird's trachea, it produces sounds without the vocal folds of mammals. The sound is produced by vibrations of some or all of the membrana tympaniformis (the walls of the syrinx) and the pessulus, caused by air flowing through the syrinx. This sets up a self-oscillating system that modulates the airflow creating the sound. The muscles modulate the sound shape by changing the tension of the membranes and the bronchial openings. The syrinx enables some species of birds (such as parrots, crows, and mynas) to mimic human speech.
Unlike the larynx in mammals, the syrinx is located where the trachea forks into the lungs. Thus, lateralization is possible, with muscles on the left and right branch modulating vibrations independently so that some songbirds can produce more than one sound at a time. Some species of birds, such as New World vultures, lack a syrinx and communicate through throaty hisses. Birds do have a larynx, but unlike in mammals, it does not vocalize.
The position of the syrinx, structure and musculature varies widely across bird groups. In some groups the syrinx covers the lower end of the trachea and the upper parts of the bronchi in which case the syrinx is said to be tracheobronchial, the most frequent form and the one found in all songbirds. The syrinx may be restricted to the bronchi as in some non-passerines, notably the owls, cuckoos and nightjars. The syrinx may also be restricted to the trachea and this is found in a very small number of bird groups that are sometimes known as Tracheophonae, a subset of the suboscine passeriformes that includes Furnariidae (ovenbirds), Dendrocolaptidae (woodcreepers), Formicariidae (ground antbirds), Thamnophilidae (typical antbirds), Rhinocryptidae (tapaculos), and Conopophagidae (gnateaters).
The trachea are covered in partly ossified rings known as tracheal rings. Tracheal rings tend to be complete, while the bronchial rings are C-shaped and the unossified part has smooth muscles running along them. The trachea are usual circular or oval in cross section in most birds but are flattened in…
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