Data from: Differentiating the evolution of female song and male-female duets in the New World blackbirds: can tropical natural history traits explain duet evolution?

Female bird song and combined vocal duets of mated pairs are both
frequently associated with tropical, monogamous, sedentary natural
histories. Little is known, however, about what selects for duetting
behavior versus female song. Female song likely preceded duet evolution
and could drive apparent relationships between duets and these natural
histories. We compared the evolution of female song and male-female duets
in the New World blackbirds (Icteridae) by investigating patterns of gains
and losses of both traits and their relationships with breeding latitude,
mating system, nesting pattern, and migratory behavior. We found that
duets evolved only in lineages in which female song was likely ancestral.
Both female song and duets were correlated with tropical breeding, social
monogamy, territorial nesting, and sedentary behavior when all taxa were
included; however, correlations between duets and these natural history
traits disappeared when comparisons were limited to taxa with female song.
Also, likelihood values supported stronger relationships between the
natural history traits and female song than between these traits and
duets. Our results suggest that the natural histories thought to favor the
evolution of duetting may in fact be associated with female song and that
additional selection pressures are responsible for the evolution of duets.