Redstarts Phoenicurus phoenicurus mimicking the song of the Scarlet Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus.

• Over a period of three years, at least three different males of Common Redstarts Phoenicurus phoenicurus in southern Sweden mimicked the song of Scarlet Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus. At least two of the Redstarts were second calendar year birds that were heard to mimic Rosefinch song in spring long before the arrival of the local breeding population of Scarlet Rosefinch. Since Redstarts and Rosefinches winter in completely different parts of the world, the birds must have picked up the Rosefinch song either as a very young juvenile the previous summer, or from a neighbouring conspecific.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Ekologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Ecology (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

art (subject category)

vet (subject category)