In tropical birds, unlike those in Europe and North America, females frequently sing, and members of a pair often combine their songs to achieve tightly coordinated duets, the functional significance of which remains a matter of some controversy. We have carried out research on a number of aspects of this, largely on the wren "genus" Thryothorus. In addition to single species studies, we have prepared a phylogeny of this group of species (which is actually polyphyletic) and are examining how song has changed among close relatives in an effort to understand how selection has led to such differences in song
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