Analysis of the Territorial Vocalization of the Pheasants Phasianus colchicus

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Research on bird vocalizations is a useful tool for further research on behavior. Singing behavior to reproductive behavior such as territory formation and mate choice. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the duration of the mating season and the time of day on the parameters of the vocalization of pheasants Phasianus colchicus (duration of vocalization, frequency of the sound wave, intervals between vocalizations). The study consisted of analyses of recordings of the sounds of crowing pheasant cocks inhabiting an area in Lublin. In the study, pheasant vocalizations that were recorded in the morning (6(00)–8(00)) and in the afternoon (16(00)–18(00)) between April and June 2020 were analyzed. Statistically significant differences in the distributions of the values of all variables between the analyzed months were demonstrated. The duration of vocalization was significantly shorter in the morning, which indicates that the cooks are more active at this time of day in the study area. The time of day was also shown to have an impact on the peak amplitude frequencies, which had the highest values in the morning. The results of the present study conducted in urban areas can be the basis for a comparison with populations of pheasants inhabiting agricultural areas. ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the duration of the mating season and the time of day on the parameters of the vocalization pheasants (duration of vocalization, frequency of the sound wave, intervals between vocalizations). In the study, pheasant vocalization recorded in the morning (6(00)–8(00)) and in the afternoon (16(00)–18(00)) between April and June 2020 was analyzed. In total, the research material consisted of 258 separate vocalizations. After recognition of the individual songs of each bird, frequency-time indicators were collected from the samples to perform statistical analysis of the recorded sounds. The duration of the first syllable [s], the duration of the second syllable [s], the duration of the pause between the syllables [s], the intervals between successive vocalizations [min], and the peak frequency of the syllables I and II [Hz] were specified for each song. The duration of the syllables and the pauses between the syllables and vocalizations were determined through evaluation of spectrograms. The peak amplitude frequencies of the syllables were determined via time-frequency STFT analysis. Statistically significant differences in the distributions of the values of all variables between the analyzed months were demonstrated. The longest duration of total vocalization and the shortest time between vocalizations were recorded in May. Therefore, this month is characterized by the highest frequency and longest duration of vocalization, which is related to the peak of the reproductive period. The time of day was found to exert a significant effect on all variables except the duration of syllable II. The duration of vocalization was significantly shorter in the morning, which indicates that the cooks are more active at this time of day in the study area. The highest peak amplitude frequencies of both syllables were recorded in April, but they decreased in the subsequent months of observation. The time of day was also shown to have an impact on the peak amplitude frequencies, which had the highest values in the morning.