MALE DISPLAYS - CAUSE OR EFFECT OF FEMALE PREFERENCE

In previous studies a positive correlation has been observed between female preference and male display rate or duration, but the causal relationship remains unclear. Female zebra finches, Taenopygia guttata, were allowed to choose between a pair of males. Females preferred the male that displayed more. However, preferred males displayed more than non-preferred males only when the female was directly in front of the male. The level of male display increased with female proximity but the amount by which display effort increased varied between individual males. Females and males were equally likely to begin an encounter, and encounter duration was not correlated with display duration. The observed correlation between female preference and male display rate was thus a combination of both male and female behaviour. Male display rate varied intrinsically between males, and was also affected by female proximity.