Song of the Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54830/bmnhn.v75.n2.2026.1043Keywords:
Arid environments, Dialect, Passeriformes, songAbstract
The Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) is represented in Chile by five subspecies. This study describes the song of the population of San Pedro de Atacama (Antofagasta Region), attributed to Z. c. antofagastae. As in other populations, the local song is divided into an introductory theme, composed of two distinct elements, and a final trill. The trill, the component that defines dialects in this species, varied among individuals without forming discrete clusters, which is consistent with a single local dialect. The individual acoustic signature was concentrated in the structure of the first element of the theme and in the temporal organization of the song, whereas the second element was the most conserved among individuals and emerges, together with the trill, as a candidate population marker.
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