Nestling growth and song repertoire size in great reed warblers: evidence for song learning as an indicator mechanism in mate choice.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2000.1300

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Article

Nestling growth and song repertoire size in great reed warblers: evidence for song learning as an indicator mechanism in mate choice.

Proceedings. Biological sciences - 7 Dec 2000

Nowicki S, Hasselquist D, Bensch S, Peters S

Abstract excerpt

Females of many songbird species show a preference for mating with males that have larger song repertoires, but the advantages associated with this preference are uncertain. We tested the hypothesis that song complexity can serve as an indicator of male quality because the development of the brai...

Topics

Animals
Body Weight
Feathers
Female
Learning
Male
Phenotype
Sexual Behavior, Animal
Songbirds
Vocalization, Animal

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