Echolocation in Oilbirds and swiftlets
The discovery of ultrasonic bat echolocation prompted a wide search for other animal biosonar systems, which yielded, among few others, two avian groups. One, the South American Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis: Caprimulgiformes), is nocturnal and eats fruit. The other is a selection of diurnal, insec...
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ftuniaarhuspubl:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/1541ecaf-01a7-411c-bab8-5da32d8ffb02 2023-06-11T04:17:20+02:00 Echolocation in Oilbirds and swiftlets Brinkløv, Signe Fenton, M. Brock Ratcliffe, John 2013 https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/echolocation-in-oilbirds-and-swiftlets(1541ecaf-01a7-411c-bab8-5da32d8ffb02).html https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2013.00123 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2013.00123/pdf eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Brinkløv , S , Fenton , M B & Ratcliffe , J 2013 , ' Echolocation in Oilbirds and swiftlets ' , Frontiers in Physiology , vol. 4 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2013.00123 article 2013 ftuniaarhuspubl https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2013.00123 2023-04-26T22:57:37Z The discovery of ultrasonic bat echolocation prompted a wide search for other animal biosonar systems, which yielded, among few others, two avian groups. One, the South American Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis: Caprimulgiformes), is nocturnal and eats fruit. The other is a selection of diurnal, insect-eating swiftlets (species in the genera Aerodramus and Collocalia: Apodidae) from across the Indo-Pacific. Bird echolocation is restricted to lower frequencies audible to humans, implying a system of poorer resolution than the ultrasonic (>20 kHz) biosonar of most bats and toothed whales. As such, bird echolocation has been labeled crude or rudimentary. Yet, echolocation is found in at least 16 extant bird species and has evolved several times in avian lineages. Birds use their syringes to produce broadband click-type biosonar signals that allow them to nest in dark caves and tunnels, probably with less predation pressure. There are ongoing discrepancies about several details of bird echolocation, from signal design to the question about whether echolocation is used during foraging. It remains to be seen if bird echolocation is as sophisticated as that of tongue-clicking rousette bats. Bird echolocation performance appears to be superior to that of blind humans using signals of notable similarity. However, no apparent specializations have been found so far in the birds' auditory system (from middle ear to higher processing centers). The advent of light-weight recording equipment and custom software for examining signals and reconstructing flight paths now provides the potential to study the echolocation behavior of birds in more detail and resolve such issues. Article in Journal/Newspaper toothed whales Aarhus University: Research Pacific Frontiers in Physiology 4 |
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English |
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The discovery of ultrasonic bat echolocation prompted a wide search for other animal biosonar systems, which yielded, among few others, two avian groups. One, the South American Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis: Caprimulgiformes), is nocturnal and eats fruit. The other is a selection of diurnal, insect-eating swiftlets (species in the genera Aerodramus and Collocalia: Apodidae) from across the Indo-Pacific. Bird echolocation is restricted to lower frequencies audible to humans, implying a system of poorer resolution than the ultrasonic (>20 kHz) biosonar of most bats and toothed whales. As such, bird echolocation has been labeled crude or rudimentary. Yet, echolocation is found in at least 16 extant bird species and has evolved several times in avian lineages. Birds use their syringes to produce broadband click-type biosonar signals that allow them to nest in dark caves and tunnels, probably with less predation pressure. There are ongoing discrepancies about several details of bird echolocation, from signal design to the question about whether echolocation is used during foraging. It remains to be seen if bird echolocation is as sophisticated as that of tongue-clicking rousette bats. Bird echolocation performance appears to be superior to that of blind humans using signals of notable similarity. However, no apparent specializations have been found so far in the birds' auditory system (from middle ear to higher processing centers). The advent of light-weight recording equipment and custom software for examining signals and reconstructing flight paths now provides the potential to study the echolocation behavior of birds in more detail and resolve such issues. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brinkløv, Signe Fenton, M. Brock Ratcliffe, John |
spellingShingle |
Brinkløv, Signe Fenton, M. Brock Ratcliffe, John Echolocation in Oilbirds and swiftlets |
author_facet |
Brinkløv, Signe Fenton, M. Brock Ratcliffe, John |
author_sort |
Brinkløv, Signe |
title |
Echolocation in Oilbirds and swiftlets |
title_short |
Echolocation in Oilbirds and swiftlets |
title_full |
Echolocation in Oilbirds and swiftlets |
title_fullStr |
Echolocation in Oilbirds and swiftlets |
title_full_unstemmed |
Echolocation in Oilbirds and swiftlets |
title_sort |
echolocation in oilbirds and swiftlets |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/echolocation-in-oilbirds-and-swiftlets(1541ecaf-01a7-411c-bab8-5da32d8ffb02).html https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2013.00123 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2013.00123/pdf |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
toothed whales |
genre_facet |
toothed whales |
op_source |
Brinkløv , S , Fenton , M B & Ratcliffe , J 2013 , ' Echolocation in Oilbirds and swiftlets ' , Frontiers in Physiology , vol. 4 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2013.00123 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2013.00123 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Physiology |
container_volume |
4 |
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1768376431384985600 |