male and female singing in a call-and-response so precisely timed and seamlessly delivered it sounds like one bird calling. The male initiates the call, and the female responds within a fraction of a millisecond. Why would a bird bother with such a highly choreographed saraband of sound? There’s a female-biased sex ratio in this population—fewer male than female whipbirds—so there’s actually competition between females for males, explains Naomi Langmore, who studies bird behavior at Australian National University in Canberra. A female whipbird may use the duet to defend her exclusive position
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