Data for: Close males sing with dissimilar minimum frequency and repertoire size in a wild passerine

We investigated the association between song and position in social networks in males of the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), a passerine with complex songs and intense territorial interactions. Relying on 19 years of song recordings, we used multiple traits reflecting the spectral- and temporal characteristics and complexity of songs as well as syllable composition to investigate if similarity in song is associated with the position in neighbor networks. We also examined whether birds settle down in an age-dependent manner (as age is linked to individual quality) and whether the non-random spatial distribution of song is affected by the proportion of immigrants, young birds or the number of displaying males. We found that the minimum frequency and the repertoire size of neighbors differed, but this pattern was not shaped by the investigated predictors. Therefore, our results highlight the need to study communication traits and social environment together. The fact that neighboring males tend to sing differently with respect to some song traits suggests that song can be flexibly adjusted based on the performance of conspecifics.