Response to Kroodsma's critique of banded wren song performance research

•Kroodsma's criticisms of song performance studies in the banded wren are erroneous.•Banded wrens use complex delivery patterns of song types to negotiate boundaries.•Males are repelled by playback of particularly high-performance songs.•Trill rate increases during encounters in relation to aggressive motivation.•One performance measure, trill note consistency, can inform receivers of male age.