Sexy birds are superior at solving a foraging problem

Yellow, red or orange carotenoid-based colorations in male birds are often a signal to prospecting females about body condition, health status and ability to find food. However, this general ‘ability to find food’ has never been defined. Here we show that more brightly ornamented individuals may als...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Mateos González, Fernando, Quesada, Javier, Senar, Juan Carlos
Tipo de documento: artigo
Data de publicação:2011
País:España
Recursos:Ajuntament de Barcelona
Repositório:BCNROC. Repositori Obert de Coneixement de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona
OAI Identifier:oai:bcnroc.ajuntament.barcelona.cat:11703/120742
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/2072/354501
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0163
http://hdl.handle.net/11703/120742
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Color dels animals
Evolució
Adaptació animal
Etologia
Ocells
Ciència i tecnologia
articles
Descrição
Resumo:Yellow, red or orange carotenoid-based colorations in male birds are often a signal to prospecting females about body condition, health status and ability to find food. However, this general ‘ability to find food’ has never been defined. Here we show that more brightly ornamented individuals may also be more efficient when foraging in novel situations. The results highlight the fact that evolution may have provided females tools to evaluate cognitive abilities of the males.