Data from: Natural singing interactions in Parus major

Eavesdropping on interactions between conspecific animals provides a
low-cost method for assessing other individuals. Asymmetries in
territorial counter-singing interactions in songbirds provide a rich
source of information for eavesdroppers about differences between the
singers. Yet, little is known about the relationship between interactive
singing in a natural, low-arousal context among territorial neighbours and
individual traits of males. We used a microphone array to monitor natural
counter-singing interactions in great tits (Parus major) during nest
building, at the onset of the breeding season. We quantified song
overlapping and song matching for 30 pairs (dyads) of interacting males,
singing at their nest, respectively. We then compared these behaviours to
five traits for 28 males: body condition, plumage ornamentation, offspring
provisioning behaviour, offspring weight, and breeding site quality. We
found no relationship between a male song overlapping or matching
behaviour and any of the measured traits. Therefore, our results do not
support the idea that short-term asymmetries in low-arousal long-range
singing interactions among neighbours reflect differences in these
fitness-related traits. Instead, our findings suggest that such singing
asymmetries have less signal value in the absence of an immediate conflict
but instead reflect short-term motivational differences, as shown in
previous investigations.