Intersexual social dominance mimicry drives female hummingbird polymorphism.

Abstract excerpt

Female-limited polymorphisms, where females have multiple forms but males have only one, have been described in a variety of animals, yet are difficult to explain because selection typically is expected to decrease rather than maintain diversity. In the white-necked jacobin (Florisuga mellivora), all males and approximately 20% of females express an ornamented plumage type (androchromic), while other females are...

Topics

• Animals
• Female
• Male
• Phenotype
• Polymorphism, Genetic
• Social Dominance