SOCIAL PREFERENCE OF ZEBRA FINCHES FOR SIBLINGS, COUSINS AND NONKIN

Adult zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, were tested for their tendency to perch selectively near relatives in two experiments. In the first experiment, males and females were allowed to choose between opposite-sex siblings (r=1/2) and non-kin (r≤1/16); males were also tested with male siblings and non-kin. The second experiment was similar to the first, except that stimulus sets consisted of first cousins (r=1/8) and non-kin of test birds. Neither sex discriminated between siblings and non-kin in heterosexual tests, but males preferred to associate with siblings in isosexual tests. Females preferred male first cousins over non-kin; this result is believed to reflect a mating preference. For both female heterosexual preferences and male isosexual preferences, discrimination of kin was not dependent on shared prior experience. © 1990.