Testing the Female Mimicry Hypothesis of Delayed Plumage Maturation: A Comment on Procter-Gray and Holmes

Sievert Rohwer

doi:10.2307/2408351

Delayed plumage maturation in green‐backed flycatchers (Ficedula elisae): An evidence of female mimicry

Ethology ◽

10.1111/eth.12825 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 125 (1) ◽

pp. 64-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gong Chen ◽

Canwei Xia ◽

Lu Dong ◽

Nan Lyu ◽

Yanyun Zhang

Keyword(s):

Delayed Plumage Maturation ◽

Female Mimicry ◽

Plumage Maturation

Delayed plumage maturation in Lazuli buntings: tests of the female mimicry and status signalling hypotheses

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology ◽

10.1007/s002650050389 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 281-290 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Vincent R. Muehter ◽

Erick Greene ◽

Laurene Ratcliffe

Keyword(s):

Delayed Plumage Maturation ◽

Female Mimicry ◽

Status Signalling ◽

Plumage Maturation

Why Are Waxwings “Waxy”? Delayed Plumage Maturation in the Cedar Waxwing

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/105.1.61 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 105 (1) ◽

pp. 61-69 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

D. James Mountjoy ◽

Raleigh J. Robertson

Keyword(s):

Status Signaling ◽

Delayed Plumage Maturation ◽

Female Mimicry ◽

Bombycilla Cedrorum ◽

Plumage Maturation ◽

The Status ◽

Males And Females ◽

Second Year ◽

Cedar Waxwing ◽

Signaling Hypothesis

Abstract Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) often have their secondaries tipped with red waxlike appendages, but a plausible hypothesis for the function of these tips has not been presented. Both males and females may have such tips, but second-year birds normally have none or only a few. This appears to be the first described instance of a passerine species to show distinctive delayed plumage maturation in both sexes. We found that waxwings mated assortatively with respect to the number of tips on the secondaries of the birds. Pairs of older birds (with high tip index scores) tended to nest earlier than younger (low tip index) birds. Older birds also had larger clutch/brood sizes and fledged more young. We suggest that the waxlike tips function as signals of age and status and that some combination of mate choice and competition for mates results in the observed assortative mating. Of the hypotheses proposed to explain the adaptive significance of delayed plumage maturation, two (the female-mimicry and cryptic hypotheses) are not confirmed in the case of the Cedar Waxwing, while the status-signaling hypothesis appears to offer the best explanation for the occurrence of delayed plumage maturation in this species.

The Function of Delayed Plumage Maturation in Male Black-Headed Grosbeaks

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/105.1.1 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 105 (1) ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Geoffrey E. Hill

Keyword(s):

Adult Males ◽

Subadult Male ◽

Delayed Plumage Maturation ◽

Breeding Populations ◽

Female Mimicry ◽

Wide Range ◽

Plumage Maturation ◽

Alternative Hypotheses ◽

Males And Females ◽

Study Sites

Abstract I used data from two breeding populations of Black-headed Grosbeaks (Pheucticus melanocephalus) in central New Mexico to test alternative hypotheses regarding the function of delayed plumage maturation in male passerines. Yearling male grosbeaks displayed a wide range of subadult plumage types, but most individuals were intermediate in appearance between adult males and females. Subadult male grosbeaks arrived on the study sites about 2 weeks after adult males, with no tendency for individuals with brighter or duller plumage to arrive first. Only a few of the most brightly plumaged subadult males defended territories and attracted females; most were nonterritorial floaters. All territories of subadult males were positioned outside clusters of adult male territories with few total neighbors. When I removed adult males from their territories, the territories remained empty. These results are not consistent with predictions of the female-mimicry hypothesis, but they are in accord with those of the cryptic hypothesis.

Delayed plumage maturation in Eurasian kestrels: female mimicry, subordination signalling or both?

Animal Behaviour ◽

10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.03.013 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 74 (5) ◽

pp. 1505-1513 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Pablo Vergara ◽

Juan A. Fargallo

Keyword(s):

Delayed Plumage Maturation ◽

Female Mimicry ◽

Plumage Maturation