Captive-bred regent honeyeaters – a native Australian songbird threatened with extinction – are being taught to sing the right songs, with new research showing it helps them survive when they are released into the wild.
Less than 400 critically endangered regent honeyeaters, a woodland songbird, are left in the wild so conservationists are supporting the bird with a captive breeding program.
The striking yellow and black bird, known for its ability to mimic the songs of other birds, were once seen in large flocks where fledglings would hear the calls of other honeyeaters.
But as numbers have dwindled, scientists think males in the wild are forgetting how to sing their love songs, with potential knock-on effects on their ability to find a mate.
Now a study that tracked 285 birds released between 2008 and 2017 has found captive fledglings taught how to sing in their aviaries either through song played through speakers or by nearby adults had a better chance of survival.
Dr Joy Tripovich, a behavioural biologist at the Taronga Conservation Society, said: “We know from previous studies that if you are singing a different song it leads to a disadvantage in the wild. If we make a difference to a few fledglings then it’s incredibly important.”
Fledglings get “song tutoring” in two ways; either they are played the song of adults through speakers or adult birds are placed in neighbouring aviaries within earshot.
Analysis suggested that regent honeyeaters that were tutored on their songs had a 75% chance of surviving, compared to a 63% chance for birds that were not tutored. The birds were all released near Chiltern in Victoria.
While that difference may not seem large, Tripovich said because the birds were now in such low numbers in the wild, any advantage the captive-bred birds could get was worth it.
Tripovich, based at Taronga’s research institute in Mosman, New South Wales, said one possible advantage to knowing the right song could be it helps younger birds socialise and be accepted into larger groups.
She said the research was not able to conclude whether the song tutoring gave the birds a better chance at reproducing. Life expectancy for the birds is about 10 years.
Male regent honeyeaters are known for their ability to mimic the songs of other birds, and even other animals.
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But rather than being a skill to be admired, recent research has found that losing their love song is likely a symptom of their lack of numbers in the wild.
The study also found the birds had better chances of survival if they were raised in aviaries with multiple species, came from parents that produced only one clutch of eggs a year, and had mothers that first reproduced at about age one.
Tripovich said the birds sometimes have their eggs stolen in the wild by gliders and possums which, if numbers were healthy, would not be a problem.
“They’re such a beautiful bird and are very fast flyers. We know in 1995 there were about 1,500 and in the early 1900s we have notes from researchers of them being out there in their thousands. So it’s hard to grasp just how much they’ve decreased.
“This is now a critical time for these birds.”
She said the study aimed to fine-tune the conditions in aviaries. The main threat to the bird continues to be deforestation, habitat fragmentation and predation from pest species.
Scientists from the University of New South Wales, BirdLife Australia, Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Monash University and other groups from the UK also took part in the study.
