Chatty palmchats: The diverse vocal repertoire of Dulus Dominicus

Abstract

The palmchat (Dulus dominicus) is the national bird of the Dominican Republic, yet there is a severe lack of research on this species and no published research on their vocalizations. As a group-living, cooperative species, vocal communication is necessary to mediate cooperative behaviors between group members. This project seeks to understand if vocalizations within the vocal repertoire of palmchats are quantifiably different enough to be categorized into distinctive call types using measured acoustic parameters. Furthermore, we seek to catalogue the contextual behavior associated with each vocalization within the repertoire of the palmchat to construct a database on palmchat vocal signals and lay the foundation for answering questions related to communication within and between communal and cooperative breeding palmchat groups. Field research was conducted in Punta Cana, La Altagracia, Dominican Republic for six weeks during which acoustic and behavioral data was collected. The palmchat was observed to make 5 distinct vocalizations, including one call made exclusively in the presence of aerial predators and another that indicates suspected vocal mimicry of a native predator. This research provides insight into the vocal behavior of the palmchat and opens the door to future studies on the role communication plays in palmchat societies.