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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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Mateos González, Fernando, Quesada, Javier, Senar, Juan Carlos
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2011
País:España
Institución:Ajuntament de Barcelona
Repositorio:BCNROC. Repositori Obert de Coneixement de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona
OAI Identifier:oai:bcnroc.ajuntament.barcelona.cat:11703/120742
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/2072/354501
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0163
http://hdl.handle.net/11703/120742
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Color dels animals
Evolució
Adaptació animal
Etologia
Ocells
Ciència i tecnologia
articles
Descripción
Sumario: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.