Effects of androgens and estrogens on crowings and distress callings in male Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica

In male Japanese quail, crowing behavior is considered to be strictly androgen-dependent. It was previously shown that in chicks, treatment with either testosterone or 5α-dihydrotestosterone (5α-DHT; a non-aromatizable androgen) induced crowing with motivation for distress calling in acutely isolated conditions. Many studies, however, have shown that the potencies of testosterone and 5α-DHT in activating crowing in castrated males are different. To clarify the effects of androgenic and estrogenic actions on the production of crows and distress calls, we injected quail daily from 11 to 42 days after hatching (Day 11 to 42) with testosterone propionate (TP), 5α-DHT, estradiol benzoate (EB) or vehicle and examined their calling behaviors both in a recording chamber (acutely isolated conditions) and in their home-cages (well-acclimated conditions). Both TP- and 5α-DHT-treated birds began to crow by Day 13 when isolated in the recording chamber. The TP-treated birds, however, crowed less frequently than 5α-DHT-treated ones. This, combined with the observations that distress calling was strongly inhibited in EB-treated birds, suggests that estrogen converted from testosterone may inhibit the motivation for distress calling. On the other hand, after chronic treatment of TP, but not of 5α-DHT, birds began to crow intensely in their home-cages earlier than vehicle treated controls, suggesting that estrogen is needed to initiate crowing behavior in sexually active males. Taken together, it is suggested that estrogenic actions affect the motivation underlying vocal behaviors, while the androgenic action is indispensable in generating crowing.