Plumage maturation and mate choice in the Tawny-bellied Seedeater

FACCHINETTI, C.; MAHLER, B.; DI GIACOMO, A. G.; REBOREDA, J. C.

Pirenopolis, Brazil

Congreso; Animal Behavior Society 46th Annual Meeting; 2009

Animal Behavior Society

The Tawny-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila hypoxantha) is a sexually dichromatic species. We studied the maturation of plumage coloration in genetically sexed individuals using reflectance spectrometry. We also evaluated if females select males based in age or in plumage coloration by offering them: 1) a choice between males that differed in age but not in coloration, and 2) a choice between males that differed in breast brightness but not in age. We did the experiments using a cage with three compartments (male 1, neutral zone and male 2, with males visually isolated from each other) and we measured the time spent by the female in the different zones. Juvenile differed from adult males in breast and crown coloration. Differences tend to disappear after the first molt, although one-year-old males still differ in plumage coloration from two-years-old males. In all choice experiments females spent more time with males than in the neutral zone but there were no significant differences in the time they spent with males that differ in age or in breast brightness. Our results indicate that females do not have a clear preference for males that differ in age or in breast brightness.