FEMALE RED JUNGLEFOWL CHOOSE TO MATE WITH MULTIPLE MALES

Although mixed paternity in broods of young is now known to occur in many species of birds, the question remains, does mixed paternity reflect only a male strategy, or might it not also be a reproductive strategy of females? To address this question female red junglefowl, Gallus gallus, in egg-laying condition were given the opportunity to mate repeatedly with either or both of two males, in the absence of male-male competition. Over the course of five mating trials nearly all females chose to mate with both available males, regardless of the appearance of the males' plumage. Similarly, although females are known to prefer males with larger combs, when the two males possessed combs of strikingly different sizes, most females mated with both individuals. These results suggest that in this species a female reproductive strategy is to obtain sperm from more than one male during production of a clutch of eggs.