Sammendrag
In many species, females possess visual ornaments that resemble those found in males. Such female ornaments may potentially be due to sexu al select by male choice, particularly in species where both sexes in vest heavily in parental care. Both sexes may then benefit by obtaini ng mates of high parental quality. In bluethroats (Luscinia s. svecic a), female plumage coloration is extremely variable, ranging from nea r absence to near full expression of male-like ornamentation. A recen t study have demonstrated that males prefer colourful females over dr ab ones. However, it is yet unknown what benefits males may gain by m ating with more ornamented females. We tested the hypothesis that mal e-like ornaments in female bluethroats signal female parental quality to potential male mates. The hypothesis predict a positive correlati on between female plumage coloration and female parental quality. We removed males temporarily to avoid the confounding effect of variable male care, and at the same time stimulate females to provide care ne ar their maximum capacity. However, we found no relationship between female plumage coloration and female feeding rates or changes in broo d mass and we, therefore, conclude that female coloration does not si gnal parental quality.
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