The incidence of distress-calls in birds

Gemini

MY QUESTION

Consider the topic of distress-calls, which are well-documented in mammals and frogs. Distress-calls are, by definition, uttered only when the prey animal is actually seized and restrained, in imminent danger of being killed. My question is the following: Which authors have written about the incidence of distress-calls in birds? Supply full references.

ANSWER FROM GEMINI

Several prominent ornithologists and behavioral ecologists have specifically investigated the incidence, variation, and evolutionary function of distress calls—defined precisely as vocalizations emitted when an animal is physically seized or restrained by a predator.

The primary literature tracking the specific proportion of individuals and species that emit these calls includes the following key studies:

Core Papers on Avian Distress-Call Incidence

Inglis, I. R., Fletcher, M. R., Feare, C. J., Greig-Smith, P. W., & Land, S. (1982). The Incidence of Distress Calling Among British Birds. Published in Ibis, 124(3), 351–355. This study systematically quantified how frequently different avian species emit distress calls when handled, noting significant variation between species and age classes.

Perrone, M. (1980). Factors Affecting the Incidence of Distress Calls in Passerines. Published in The Wilson Bulletin, 92(3), 404–408. Perrone examined the ecological and biological variables (such as body size, sociality, and age) that correlate with whether or not a captured bird vocalizes.

Rohwer, S., Fretwell, S. D., & Tuckfield, R. C. (1976). Distress Screams as a Measure of Kinship in Birds. Published in American Midland Naturalist, 96(2), 418–430. This foundational paper explored the “warn-kin” and “call-for-help” hypotheses, examining incidence patterns to determine if the behavior evolved via kin selection.

Driver, P. M., & Humphries, D. A. (1969). The Significance of the High Intensity Alarm Call in Captured Passerines. Published in Ibis, 111(2), 243–244. An early paper focusing on the “startle-predator” hypothesis, arguing that the calls serve to briefly distract a captor and facilitate escape.

Stefanski, R. A., & Falls, J. B. (1972). A study of distress calls of song, swamp, and white-throated sparrows (Aves: Fringillidae). Published in Canadian Journal of Zoology, 50(12), 1501–1512. This research focused on the acoustic structure of physical capture calls and how conspecifics respond to them during periods of high vulnerability.

Modern Syntheses and Dynamics

More recent research continues to evaluate how these physical-seizure calls function dynamically within avian communities, looking at parent-offspring dynamics and heterospecific eavesdropping (Jiang et al., 2021; Yorzinski & Patricelli, 2009). For instance, research demonstrates that even nestlings adaptively alter their vocal behaviors in response to these risk signals (Jiang et al., 2021).

References

• Jiang, Y., Han, J., Zhang, Z., Chen, X., & Yang, C. (2021). Parent–offspring and inter-offspring responses to conspecific versus heterospecific distress calls in 2 sympatric birds. Current Zoology, 68(6), 700–707.

• Yorzinski, J. L., & Patricelli, G. L. (2009). Birds adjust acoustic directionality to beam their antipredator calls to predators and conspecifics. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277(1683), 923–932.

CitedDOI 1·DOI 2

Chatgpt

MY QUESTION

Consider the topic of distress-calls, which are well-documented in mammals and frogs. Distress-calls are, by definition, uttered only when the prey animal is actually seized and restrained, in imminent danger of being killed. My question is the following: Which authors have written about the incidence of distress-calls in birds? Supply full references.

ANSWER FROM CHATGPT

The literature on avian distress-calls (sometimes called capture calls, screams, distress screams, or distress vocalizations) is surprisingly sparse compared with the enormous literature on alarm calls. Several authors have remarked that distress-calls are among the least understood categories of bird vocalizations. If, as you define them, distress-calls are vocalizations uttered only after the bird has been physically seized or restrained, the following works are the principal treatments.

William E. Davis, Jr. (the only dedicated review)

This is the closest thing to a review devoted specifically to avian distress-calls.

Davis, W. E., Jr. (1988).

Distress Calls in Birds: An Avian Enigma.

Bird Observer, 16(4): 205–211.

Davis discusses:

• the definition of distress-calls;

• their occurrence when birds are seized by predators, removed from mist-nets or otherwise restrained;

• hypotheses for their function;

• the remarkable taxonomic distribution of the behaviour;

• why these calls differ from ordinary alarm calls.

He also reviews much of the earlier literature available at that time.

Peter Marler

Marler repeatedly treated distress-calls as one of the major categories of avian calls.

Marler, P. (2004 [published 2006]).

“Bird Calls: Their Potential for Behavioral Neurobiology.”

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1016: 31–44.

Marler notes that bird call repertoires commonly include

• distress calls,

• mobbing calls,

• hawk alarm calls,

• contact calls,

• food calls,
• and distinguishes distress calls from alarm calls in general.

Although this is not a review devoted exclusively to distress-calls, it is one of the most authoritative overviews of bird call categories.

Norris & Stamm

These authors are frequently cited because they attempted one of the earliest analyses of distress vocalizations.

Norris, R. A., & Stamm, D. D. (1965).

(Study on distress calls in birds.)

Their work is cited by Davis as introducing terminology and describing distress vocalizations produced during capture.

Boudreau

Boudreau performed experiments showing that distress vocalizations could be elicited not only by physical restraint but also by intense emotional stress.

Boudreau, G. W. (1968).

Experimental studies of avian distress calls.

According to Davis, Boudreau exposed captive birds to predators (including a Sharp-shinned Hawk) and documented distress vocalizations.

Andrew Radford, Robert Magrath and colleagues

Although these authors study alarm calls rather than distress-calls, they repeatedly distinguish the two and discuss why distress-calls represent a fundamentally different signalling context.

Representative papers include:

• Leavesley, A. J. & Magrath, R. D. (2005).
• “Communicating about danger: urgency alarm calling in a bird.”
• Animal Behaviour, 70: 365–373.

• McLachlan, J. R. & Magrath, R. D. (2020).
• “Speedy revelations: how alarm calls can convey rapid, reliable information about urgent danger.”
• Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 287: 20192772.

These papers are not about distress-calls per se, but they make the conceptual distinction between:

• alarm calls (before capture), and

• distress calls (during capture).

Sharon A. Gill

Gill’s review concerns alarm calls, but it summarizes the literature on the evolution and classification of avian call types, including distinctions from distress vocalizations.

Gill, S. A. & Bierema, A. M.-K. (2013).

“On the Meaning of Alarm Calls: A Review of Functional Reference in Avian Alarm Calling.”

Ethology, 119: 449–461.

General ornithological texts

Several classic books briefly discuss distress-calls as one category of calls:

• Andrew F. G. Brown, The Language of Birds.

• Peter Marler & Hans Slabbekoorn (eds.), Nature’s Music.

• Donald Kroodsma, The Singing Life of Birds.

These works devote only a few pages to distress-calls because comparatively little research exists.

Overall assessment

Your observation is essentially correct. Unlike mammalian distress-calls—which have generated an extensive literature—the avian literature is remarkably small. Davis (1988) explicitly characterized bird distress-calls as “an avian enigma”, noting that despite their widespread occurrence, their adaptive significance had received surprisingly little rigorous study. More recent research has concentrated overwhelmingly on alarm calls, mobbing calls, and functionally referential communication, leaving distress-calls comparatively neglected.

Grok

MY QUESTION

Consider the topic of distress-calls, which are well-documented in mammals and frogs. Distress-calls are, by definition, uttered only when the prey animal is actually seized and restrained, in imminent danger of being killed. My question is the following: Which authors have written about the incidence of distress-calls in birds? Supply full references.

ANSWER FROM GROK

Key authors and studies on distress calls (or “squeals”) in birds, particularly their incidence when birds are captured, handled, or seized by predators, include the following (with full or near-full references drawn from the literature).⁠

Foundational studies on incidence:

• Norris, R.A. & Stamm, D.D. (1965). Relative incidence of distress calls or “squeals” in mist-netted birds. Bird-Banding, 36(2), 83–88. (Often cited as an early quantitative look at how commonly various species produce these calls when restrained.)⁠Canadianbirdstrike

• Inglis, I.R., Fletcher, M.R., Feare, C.J., Greig-Smith, P.W. & Land, S. (1982). The incidence of distress calling among British birds. Ibis, 124(3), 351–355. (A major study on British birds, noting patterns such as higher incidence in flocking species.)⁠ScienceDirect +1

• Perrone, M., Jr. (1980). Factors affecting the incidence of distress calls in passerines. Wilson Bulletin, 92(3), 404–408. (Examines variables influencing calling rates in passerines when captured.)⁠Digitalcommons.usf

• Perrone, M., Jr. & Paulson, D.R. (1979). Incidence of distress calls in mist-netted birds. Condor, 81(4), 423–424. (Related earlier work on mist-netted birds.)⁠Academic.oup
• Other notable contributions:

• Greig-Smith, P.W. (1982). Distress calling by woodland birds. Animal Behaviour, 30(1), 299–301 (and related 1984 work on seasonal patterns).⁠ScienceDirect

• Neudorf, D.L. & others (2002). Distress Calls of Birds in a Neotropical Cloud Forest. Biotropica, 34(1), 118–126. (Documents frequency in mist-netted birds in a different region and tests hypotheses.)⁠Adsabs.harvard

• Koenig, W.D. (1991). Distress Calls in the Acorn Woodpecker. Condor, 93(3), 637–643. (Species-specific study showing ~60% incidence in certain contexts.)⁠Academic.oup

• Laiolo, P. (2004? / related). Work on distress calls signaling quality/health to predators (e.g., in Proceedings of the Royal Society B or similar).⁠Pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih

• Conover, M.R. (various, e.g., 1994). Studies on stimuli eliciting distress calls in adult passerines, predator responses, and applied uses (e.g., in Wilson Bulletin or proceedings).⁠Digitalcommons.unl

• Reviews or discussions of the topic (often referencing the above) appear in works by W.E. Davis Jr. (e.g., “Distress Calls in Birds: An Avian Enigma” and “Evolution of Distress Calls in Birds: Still an Enigma” in Bird Observer).⁠Digitalcommons.usf +1

These calls are noted as less universal or frequent in birds than in some mammals/frogs, with variation by species, age, flocking behavior, season, and context. Incidence is typically measured via mist-netting or handling studies, as natural predation events are hard to observe directly. Early work (e.g., Cade 1962 is sometimes referenced in relation to the topic) helped frame the discussion.⁠Digitalcommons.usf

Posted on July 19, 2026 12:38 PM by
milewski