Male white-throated sparrows exposed to playback of recorded songs responded less strongly to a neighbor's than to a stranger's song when the speaker was located near the territorial boundary adjacent to the neighbor in question or in the center of the territory. However, when a neighbor's song was played from the boundary of the territory farthest from that neighbor's usual location but where another neighbor lived, response was as strong as to a stranger's song. This demonstrates individual recognition of neighbors by both song and location. Based on results obtained in the center of the territory cited above, it is suggested that recognition by song is independent of location. Responses to strangers' songs were stronger in the center of the territory than near the boundaries. A proximate mechanism and possible functions of this behavior are discussed.
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Falls et al. (1975) studied this question.