Summary

This episode is all about how birds choose their mates and the evolutionary outcomes of those choices.

A lot of what we’re talking about today has to do with sexual selection, which is a special form of natural selection. 

In sexual selection, individuals compete for mates. This is when females and males choose their partners based on specific traits. Traits like plumage color or song, behavior, etc.

This choosiness has resulted in some spectacular features in birds. Many of the things we love most about birds are consequences of sexual selection.

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Research Citations

• Male Rock Sparrow (Petronia petronia) Nest Defence Correlates with Female Ornament Size
• Mutual sexual selection in a monogamous seabird (Crested Auklets)
• Microstructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers
  

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Photos of Some Birds Mentioned

Attributions

• Andean Cock-of-the-Rock sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC343734)
• Long-tailed Duck sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC501518)
• Rock Sparrow sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC491370)
• Purple-collared Woodstar sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC251237)
• Long-tailed Manakin sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC6806)