Anderson, Ross, Brunton and Hauber 1

Anderson, Ross, Brunton and Hauber 1

Supplementary Material

Suppl 1: Locations and samples sizes for the begging call recordings made for each species.

Species / Species Name / Location / Nestling age (fledging age) / No. of nests
Rock Wren / Xenicus gilviventres / Murchison Mountains / (45º13’S, 167º30’E) / 20 (24)* / 1
Rifleman / Acanthisitta chloris / Dart Valley / (44º42’S, 168º19’E) / ~18 (24) / 1
Little Barrier Island / (36º12’S, 175º03’E) / ? (24) / 1
Tui / Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae / Tawharanui Regional Park / (36º22’S, 174º50’E) / ~16 (21) / 1
Tiritiri Matangi Island / (36º36’S, 174º53’E) / ~12 (21) / 1
Bellbird / Anthornis melanura / Tiritiri Matangi Island / (36º36’S, 174º53’E) / ~ 6 (14) / 1
Grey Warbler / Gerygone igata / Tawharanui Regional Park / (36º22’S, 174º50’E) / 12-17 (17) / 10
Kokako / Callaeas cinerea / Tiritiri Matangi Island / (36º36’S, 174º53’E) / ~20 (31) / 2
Hunua Regional Park / (37º02’S, 175º13’E) / ~15 (31) / 1
Saddleback / Philesturnus carunculatus / Tiritiri Matangi Island / (36º36’S, 174º53’E) / ~18 (26) / 1
Hihi (stitchbird) / Notiomystis cincta / Little Barrier Island / (36º12’S, 175º03’E) / ? (28-34) / 2
Fantail / Rhipudura fulignosa / Tawharanui Regional Park / (36º22’S, 174º50’E) / 6-9 (13) / 3
Yellowhead / Mohoua ochrocephala / Dart Valley / (44º42’S, 168º19’E) / ~12-18 (22) / 3
Whitehead / Mohoua albicilla / Tiritiri Matangi Island / (36º36’S, 174º53’E) / ~10-14 (17) / 2
Brown Creeper / Mohoua novaeseelandiae / Kowhai Bush / (42º22’S, 173º36’E) / ? (20) / 1
Tomtit / Petroica macrocephala / Hunua Ranges / (37º01’S, 175º09’E) / 12 (18) / 1
New Zealand Robin / Petroica australis / Tiritiri Matangi Island / (36º36’S, 174º53’E) / 11& 19 (21) / 2
Silvereye / Zosterops lateralis / Tawharanui Regional Park / (36º22’S, 174º50’E) / ~5-8 (10) / 3
Welcome Swallow / Hirundo tahitica / Tawharanui Regional Park / (36º22’S, 174º50’E) / 10-16 (21) / 3
New Zealand Pipit / Anhus novaeseelandiae / Tawharanui Regional Park / (36º22’S, 174º50’E) / 10 (14-16) / 1
Shining Cuckoo / Chrysococcyx lucidus / Wenderholm Regional Park / (36º32’S, 174º42’E) / 18 (19) / 1
Chrysococcyx lucidus / Tawharanui Regional Park / (36º22’S, 174º50’E) / Fledglings / 2
Orange-fronted parakeet / Cyanoramphus malherbi / Maud Island / (41º01’S, 173º52’E) / 30 (35-40)# / 1
New Zealand Kingfisher / Halcyon sancta / Muriwai / (36º49’S, 174º26’E) / ? (26-27) / 1

*Fledging ages taken from Heather and Robertson (2005)

#Pers. Comm.. Luis Ortiz Catedral

Anderson, Ross, Brunton and Hauber 1

Suppl 2: Phylogeny of the 20 New Zealand species used in comparative analysis of begging calls.

a) / Frequency (kHz) / /
b) /
c) /
d) / /
Time (s)

Suppl. 3: Example spectrograms of the begging calls of a) shining cuckoo and three New Zealand passerine species: b) grey warbler, c) bellbird and d) whitehead.

Sound Parameter / Units / Definition
Frequency modulation / degrees / The mean slope of frequency contours
Amplitude modulation / 1/ms / Changes in amplitude across the sound
Wiener entropy / A measure of randomness on a scale of 0–1; white noise has an entropy value of 1, and complete order, for example a pure tone, has an entropy value of 0
Mean frequency / kHz / A smooth estimate of the centre of derivative power
Duration / Ms / call length

Suppl. 4: Example spectrograms of the begging calls of a) shining cuckoo and three New Zealand passerine species: b) grey warbler, c) bellbird and d) whitehead.