01669nas a2200217   4500008004100000245007300041210006900114260000800183300001600191490000800207520103300215653001701248653001001265653002701275653001401302653001001316100003101326700002601357700002201383856004601405       2009                        eng d00aCharacter displacement of song and morphology in African tinkerbirds0 aCharacter displacement of song and morphology in African tinkerb  cMay  a8256–82610 v1063 a10.1073/pnas.0810124106 Divergence in acoustic signals between populations of animals can lead to species recognition failure, reproductive isolation, and speciation. Character displacement may facilitate coexistence of species in natural communities, yet evidence for character displacement in acoustic signals is scant. Here, we find evidence of character displacement in song as well as body size and bill size of 2 related African tinkerbirds. Playback experiments indicate that related species' songs are perceived differently in sympatry than in allopatry. We suggest character displacement occurs in phenotypic traits facilitating species recognition, which has important implications for understanding the processes that lead to speciation and diversification. Because many of the sites where the 2 species coexist are areas where pristine rainforest has been degraded, results also suggest that anthropogenic pressures resulting from deforestation may be a contributing cause of character displacement in these species.10abioacoustics10abirds10acharacter-displacement10aevolution10asongs1 aKirschel, Alexander, N. G.1 aBlumstein, Daniel, T.1 aSmith, Thomas, B.  uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0810124106