Data from: Multimodal coordination enhances the responses to an avian duet

Animals communicate with their whole bodies, so their signals can be
complex and multimodal. The joint intelligibility of multimodal signal
components depends on their temporal coordination, which, when only one
signaler is involved, depends on the synchronization between the different
modalities of signals involved. Coordination is a challenge, however, in
cooperatively signaling species because it requires continuous monitoring
of the partner’s behavior. Previous research showed that vocal
coordination between cooperating individuals increases the perceived
threat of the display; little is known, however, about the influence of
multimodal coordination on the communication behavior of receivers to
cooperative displays. I tested the function of multimodal coordination in
the duets of the Australian magpie-lark Grallina cyanoleuca. I used a
male-female pair of robot models to manipulate the temporal coordination
between individuals and between sensory modalities. Precise coordination
of the vocal and visual components of duets increased the perceived
territorial threat of these joint displays. However, displays coordinated
between individuals but not between modalities, and displays coordinated
between modalities but not between individuals, were less effective,
suggesting that the lack of coordination in one channel cancels benefits
of coordination in the other. This study shows that multimodal
coordination within individuals, in addition to coordination within
modalities between individuals, enhances the perceptual integration and
efficiency of avian duets.