Birds' Tails as Signaling Devices: Markings, Shape, Length, and Feather Quality

Fitzpatrick, Susan M.

doi:10.1086/286109

Cited by 65 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) for example, zig-zag movements during courtship expose the male's red ventral coloration to the female (McLennan & McPhail, 1990). Other examples are tail markings of birds that amplify tail length, shape or feather quality (Hasson, 1991;Fitzpatrick, 1998), and ornaments that amplify other ornamental traits, such as in guppies where black colours enhance areas of orange (Brooks, 1996).…”

Section: Interaction Between Cuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of multiple cues in mate choice

2003

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An increasing number of studies find females to base their mate choice on several cues. Why this occurs is debated and many different hypotheses have been proposed. Here I review the hypotheses and the evidence in favour of them. At the same time I provide a new categorisation based on the adaptiveness of the preferences and the information content of the cues. A few comparative and empirical studies suggest that most multiple cues are Fisherian attractiveness cues or uninformative cues that occur alongside a viability indicator and facilitate detection, improve signal reception, or are remnants from past selection pressures. However, much evidence exists for multiple cues providing additional information and serving as multiple messages that either indicate general mate quality or enable females that differ in mate preferences to choose the most suitable male. Less evidence exists for multiple cues serving as back-up signals. The importance of receiver psychology, multiple sensory environments and signal interaction in the evolution of multiple cues and preferences has received surprisingly little attention but may be of crucial importance. Similarly, sexual conflict has been proposed to result in maladaptive preferences for manipulative cues, and in neutral preferences for threshold cues, but no reliable evidence exists so far. An important factor in the evolution of multiple preferences is the cost of using additional cues. Most theoretical work assumes that the cost of choice increases with the number of cues used, which restricts the conditions under which preferences for multiple cues are expected to evolve. I suggest that in contrast to this expectation, the use of multiple cues can reduce mate choice costs by decreasing the number of mates inspected more closely or the time and energy spent inspecting a set of mates. This may be one explanation for why multiple cues are more common than usually expected. Finally I discuss the consequences that the use of multiple cues may have for the process of sexual selection, the maintenance of genetic variation, and speciation.

show abstract

Section: Interaction Between Cuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of multiple cues in mate choice

2003

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Likewise, two other tail characteristics have been reported to be important cri- , Møller 1992a, Møller , 1993b and white tail spots (e.g., . These characteristics can evolve as byproducts of long tails (e.g., Johnstone 1994), as amplifiers (Fitzpatrick 1998; also see Møller 2017 for potential illusion effects of white tail spots), or as quality indicators, because these traits also indicate male quality (e.g., condition at molt ;Møller 1994a, b;Saino et al 2015). In addition to these tail characteristics, plumage coloration would be important.…”

Section: Secondary Sexual Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beauty alone is insufficient: female mate choice in the barn swallow

Hasegawa

2017

Ecological Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The barn swallow, Hirundo rustica, is a model species for studying sexual selection, particularly female mate choice. Although there have already been several reviews of female mate choice and its geographic variation in this species, all of them have focused on secondary sexual characteristics. Here, for better understanding of the general pattern of female mate choice and their influence on male phenotype, I review all of the female mate choice criteria ever reported in the barn swallow, emphasizing the importance of relatively inconspicuous male traits. These include resources defended or provided by males, such as territory and paternal investment. In addition, females prefer a nestling-like vocalization, enticement call, which is particularly noteworthy because females prefer immature calls. This pattern contrasts with female choice based on secondary sexual characteristics, in which more mature, elaborate male traits are almost always favored. Nestling-like male traits are widespread, and thus female avoidance of, rather than preference for, mature forms might be common. In addition to selection on the target trait itself, these resources and nestling-like male traits would also matter in understanding the evolution of the overall male phenotype and its geographic variation, due to the interrelationships among male target traits and those among female mate preferences. Female preferences for inconspicuous traits are highly dependent on ecological factors such as nest predation pressure, and thus overall male phenotype including secondary sexual characteristics might be more predictable than previously thought. Future studies should focus on not only conspicuous secondary sexual characteristics but inconspicuous male traits.

show abstract

“…it is a character that reveals individual quality without itself being costly to produce or carry (e.g. Hasson 1989;Fitzpatrick 1998). White feather tips may, for instance, reveal overall feather quality, as the absence of melanin in white parts of the feather weakens it (Burtt 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A label of health: a previous immune challenge is reflected in the expression of a female plumage trait

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Studies of ornaments as indicators of individual quality have hitherto focused on males, while studies of female ornaments have been almost absent. However, females within the same species may show large variation in both outer appearance and individual quality. We experimentally examined the effect of an immune challenge on the size of white fringes in the wing feathers produced one to two months after the challenge in female common eiders ( Somateria mollissima ), a long-lived sea duck. Immune-challenged females produced feathers with smaller white fringes, showing that a previous immune challenge may affect the expression of a plumage trait. We also report an unexpected difference in the expression of this white plumage trait within the immune-challenged group, related to the specific immune response against one of the injected antigens.

show abstract

Birds' Tails as Signaling Devices: Markings, Shape, Length, and Feather Quality

Cited by 65 publications

References 1 publication

The use of multiple cues in mate choice

The use of multiple cues in mate choice

Beauty alone is insufficient: female mate choice in the barn swallow

A label of health: a previous immune challenge is reflected in the expression of a female plumage trait

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About