Field investigation of Turtle doves’ courtship: vocal calls versus arc-flight

ABSTRACT

During the breeding season, many avian species produce complex expressions to attract their mates. In turtle doves Streptopelia turtur, male signals visually and acoustically during courtship. The only previous study on turtle doves’ song was limited to quantifying acoustic expressions and their role in the detection of turtle doves. In the present study, we defined two types of languages in turtle dove’s courtship display "arc-shaped" flights and vocal "roux", with the aim to investigate, under natural conditions, their attractive role towards females. Similarly, the influence of intraspecific competitors and position of singing were analysed during two breeding seasons (2016-2017). Summarizing, results chow that male turtle doves combined acoustic and arc-flight displays to attract mates, with intense expressions between May and July. Throughout the day, vocal calls and flights are concentrated between 800-1000 (morning) and 1600-1800 (evening). Moreover, the duration of the acoustic display is more important than flying expressions. On the other hand, turtle doves sing on trees (vertical support) more than ground, with a complex frequencies and amplitudes (sound calls) to spread out their calls toward females. However, the presence of competitors in the same field increase rate of singing and flying, in order to ensure mates attraction.