THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY • Vol. 124. No. 4. December 2012 
754 
ESOWs 
present 
ESOWs 
absent 
ESOWs 
present 
ESOWs 
absent 
(in sec); and (D) timelength tetwwn tte ^ ° f ° n ° tCS per call; (C) lcn f?' h of the first D noIe 
when presented with a stuffed Eastern Screech-Owl’fESOW) t * eC) C,ICUed by ca P ,ured Black-capped Chickadees 
Lh ° Wl (ESOW) n,odcl "> arcas where screech-owls were present and absent. 
et al. 2011). We also did not measure habitat 
features (e.g.. extent of fragmentation), which can 
affect sound transmission, but observed no 
discemable differences in sites with and without 
screech-owls and note alarm call structures do not 
vary across habitat types in other taxa (Tppi et al. 
Templeton et al. (2005) found Black-cap, 
Chickadees convey high threat levels (based 
predator size) by eliciting large numbers 
frequent, short D notes and suggested tl 
response was threat- but not predator-specif 
Th,s remains plausible but if chickadees si 
recogmze screech-owls as a dangerous predal 
have lost threat-appropriate vocalizations I 
hem, their call components may actually conv, 
™ PCC : C toea,S - n °' S p 
cies. Thus, the complex ‘chick-a-dee' call nu 
uniquely con vey the identity of particular predat, 
species, and can have survivorship value 
dtosyncratues i„ predator-foraging behavior a 
feet the adaptive nuances of predator-specific pre 
lesponses. Local predator absence or presenc 
should have no bearing on chickadee response i 
chick-a-dee call structures convey information 
about predator size only. We did not find this to 
be the case and highlight this incongruence as 
evidence for a predator-specific call structure, 
^ hat seems apparent is that components of the 
anti-predator behavior for this historically sym- 
pau ic and dangerous predator have been altered. 
Increasing interest is emerging to integrate 
avian culture (i.e., behavior acquired through 
social learning; Laiolo 2010) with conservation 
(Curio 19%, McLean el al. 1999. Ryan 2006. 
Laiolo 2010). Information for many songbirds, 
including anti-predator vocalizations, is transmit- 
ted v ' a social learning (Gammon et al. 2005. 
Laiolo and Telia 2007. Nocera and Taylor 20081. 
Survi vorship can be reduced if passage of social 
learning is disrupted but sympatry is later realized 
between predator and prey (van Heezik et al. 
1999). Black-capped Chickadees elicit a threat- 
inappropriate call for screech-owls in areas 
aeking them and there is little opportunity for 
ock members to learn a proper response 
( Templeton and Greene 2007); thus, their survi¬ 
vorship may be compromised if they are later 
