Female kestrels gain reproductive success by choosing brightly ornamented males
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
1994 |
Authors: |
Päivi Palokangas, Erkki Korpimäki, Harri Hakkarainen, Esa Huhta, Pasi Tolonen, Rauno V. Alatalo |
Publication/Journal: |
Animal Behaviour |
Keywords: |
european kestrel, evolution, falco tinnunculus, female choice, fitness, good parent, male coloration, mate choice |
Abstract:
Female choice with respect to male coloration, and its consequences for fitness, were studied in the European kestrel, Falco tinnunculus. In an aviary experiment, females preferred to approach bright males. Under natural conditions, bright males spent more of their time hunting than dull males. Females mated with bright males produced more offspring than those mated with dull males. The evolution of female preferences for ornamented males has frequently been explained in terms of indirect selection through good genes or a runaway process. It is postulated that, in the kestrel, females can increase their fitness through a ‘good parent’ process, and that this is sufficient to explain the evolution of female preference.