Dec. 18, 2012 — Male birds use their song
to dupe females they have just met by pretending they are in excellent physical
condition.
Just as some men try to cast themselves in a
better light when they approach would-be dates, so male birds in poor condition
seek to portray that they are fitter than they really are. But males do not
even try to deceive their long-term partners, who are able to establish the
true condition of the male by their song.
Researchers at the University of Exeter studied
zebra finches to establish how trustworthy birdsong was in providing honest
signals about the male's value as a mate. Singing is a test of the condition of
birds because it uses a lot of energy. Fit and healthy birds are thought to be
able to sustain a high song rate for longer, making them more attractive to
females.
The research team, which included scientists
from the Université de Bourgogne in France, looked at short and longer
encounters with unknown females, as well as patterns of song around females who
were familiar to them.
The team discovered that males in poor condition
could "cheat" and vary their song to give a false impression to
stranger females. But they did not even try to fool those who knew them, who
used song as a reliable test of their underlying qualities. The research is
published on December 19 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal
Society B
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