Topic
Butcherbird
About: Butcherbird is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 19 publications have been published within this topic receiving 195 citations.
Papers
1 Jan 2008
TL;DR: It is concluded that their elaborate song culture seems to overreach biological necessity, indicating an aesthetic appreciation of sound is present in the pied butcherbird.
Abstract: Definitions of music invoking the human cutoff point are reviewed. The pied butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis is suggested for a zoomusicological case study on how birdsong might be like the human animal`s music (whether homologous or analogous). Portamento as an impediment to off-the-shelf musicology in the case of birdsong analysis is discussed. It is proposed that the employment of different types and levels of description could facilitate the most fecund survey and analysis. An initial survey on how pied butcherbirds use notes, calls, and song is presented, including sonograms and standard music notation, followed by an elucidation of a repertoire of procedures found in both music and pied butcherbird song. It is concluded that their elaborate song culture seems to overreach biological necessity, indicating an aesthetic appreciation of sound is present in the pied butcherbird.
40 citations
TL;DR: Analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences from 55 individuals of C. nigrogularis revealed low genetic diversity, poor geographical structure and signatures of a recent demographic expansion, which contrasts with predictions from intraspecific taxonomy and with population structures of several other bird species.
Abstract: Widespread cyclic aridity during the Pleistocene is hypothesised to have had a significant impact on widespread Australian birds causing range-wide contractions to historical refugia and population differentiation while in isolation. In this study we tested a priori hypotheses for the impact of Pleistocene climatic and edaphic changes on the population history of the widespread Australian Pied Butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis). Analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences from 55 individuals of C. nigrogularis revealed low genetic diversity, poor geographical structure and signatures of a recent demographic expansion. In contrast with long-standing biogeographical hypotheses, our data suggest that C. nigrogularis was likely to have been restricted to multiple refugia across its current range rather than undergoing range-wide contractions to one or few refugia. In addition, we found no evidence for the Carpentarian Barrier of northern Australia having limited dispersal in C. nigrogularis, which contrasts with predictions from intraspecific taxonomy and with population structures of several other bird species. Our data add to the increasing number of phylogeographical studies of widespread Australian birds that show evidence of maintaining large effective population sizes despite widespread aridity, as well as species-specific, rather than ecosystem-wide, responses to Pleistocene climatic changes and biogeographical barriers. © Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union 2010.
33 citations
TL;DR: Overall, patterns and timings of speciation were consistent with the hypothesis that both the expansion of open sclerophyllous woodlands 25-30Ma and the formation of extensive grassland-dominated woodlands 6-8Ma allowed the radiation of lineages adapted to open woodland habitats.
33 citations
21 Mar 2011
TL;DR: A survey of strategies employed by composers who make overt reference to birdsong as a model, with a particular focus on the pied butcherbird, can be found in this paper.
Abstract: This article surveys the range of strategies employed by composers who make overt reference to birdsong as a model, with a particular focus on the pied butcherbird. The species plays a conspicuous role in the appropriation of Australian birdsong by composers, as first proposed by Henry Tate in the early twentieth century. The interrogation of birdsong also has currency in analytical practice, provoking issues such as musical universals and the role of transcription and analysis in composition. In human compositional design, pied butcherbird’s protean vocalisations are well represented as the source in a myriad of arenas. Tate’s vision of composers tapping into Australia’s birdsong resources is materialising.
15 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2013 | 3 |
| 2011 | 3 |