Vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production ...

• Main Authors: Kriesell, Hannah J., Le Bohec, Céline, Cerwenka, Alexander F., Hertel, Moritz, Robin, Jean-Patrice, Ruthensteiner, Bernhard, Gahr, Manfred, Aubin, Thierry, Düring, Daniel N.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2020
• Subjects: Syrinx anatomy; Micro computed tomography; 3D reconstruction; Spheniscidae; Vocal communication; King Penguins; Possession Island
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000401523; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/401523

Background The astonishing variety of sounds that birds can produce has been the subject of many studies aiming to identify the underlying anatomical and physical mechanisms of sound production. An interesting feature of some bird vocalisations is the simultaneous production of two different frequencies. While most work has been focusing on songbirds, much less is known about dual-sound production in non-passerines, although their sound production organ, the syrinx, would technically allow many of them to produce “two voices”. Here, we focus on the king penguin, a colonial seabird whose calls consist of two fundamental frequency bands and their respective harmonics. The calls are produced during courtship and for partner and offspring reunions and encode the birds’ identity. We dissected, μCT-scanned and analysed the vocal tracts of six adult king penguins from Possession Island, Crozet Archipelago. Results King penguins possess a bronchial type syrinx that, similarly to the songbird’s tracheobronchial ... : Frontiers in Zoology, 17 (1) ...