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Dawn Solo/Chorus

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

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Synonyms

Dawn song, Dawn singing

Definition

The dawn chorus is a period of vocalization that occurs during twilight before the sun rises.

Introduction

The dawn chorus is a prominent acoustic display that begins during the twilight period characterized by a high rate of vocalization by many species. Whereas the most studied species are birds, mammals, insects, and anurans also may chorus at dawn. The focus of the entry is on birds with a summary of other species at the end. The order in which participating species begin to chorus is predictable. In resident species, the dawn chorus may occur year-round, whereas, in migratory species, the dawn chorus begins within the first weeks following arrival on the breeding grounds.

Research on the Dawn Chorus

Due to the striking nature of the cacophony of chorusing species at daybreak, the dawn chorus has been described historically for its beauty. Research on the dawn chorus began in earnest in the 1900s with efforts to characterize the timing...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada

    Jennifer R. Foote

Authors
  1. Jennifer R. Foote
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Correspondence to Jennifer R. Foote .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Shannon Digweed

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Foote, J.R. (2019). Dawn Solo/Chorus. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1659-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1659-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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