Faithful males do not bring flowers
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 12:49
in Biology & Nature
(PhysOrg.com) -- Fairy-wrens are notorious for their infidelity: despite living in seemingly harmonious monogamous pairs, females produce mostly illegitimate young, and males spend more time courting other females than their own partner. Among these promiscuous birds, researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology in Germany and the University of Freiburg, Germany have now found a uniquely faithful species, the purple-crowned fairy-wren. What's more, males of this species have lost all striking adaptations for extra-pair mating that characterise the other fairy-wrens, including presentation of flower petals during courtship displays.