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Structural coloration signals condition, parental investment, and circulating hormone levels in Eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis)

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Abstract

Many of the brilliant plumage coloration displays of birds function as signals to conspecifics. One species in which the function of plumage ornaments has been assessed is the Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis). Studies of a population breeding in Alabama (USA) have established that plumage ornaments signal quality, parental investment, and competitive ability in both sexes. Here we tested the additional hypotheses that (1) Eastern bluebird plumage ornamentation signals nest defense behavior in heterospecific competitive interactions and (2) individual variation in plumage ornamentation reflects underlying differences in circulating hormone levels. We also tested the potential for plumage ornaments to signal individual quality and parental investment in a population breeding in Oklahoma (USA). We found that Eastern bluebirds with more ornamented plumage are in better condition, initiate breeding earlier in the season, produce larger clutches, have higher circulating levels of the stress hormone corticosterone, and more ornamented males have lower circulating androgen levels. Plumage coloration was not related to nest defense behavior. Thus, plumage ornamentation may be used by both sexes to assess the physiological condition and parental investment of prospective mates. Experimental manipulations of circulating hormone levels during molt are needed to define the role of hormones in plumage ornamentation.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the student volunteers that assisted with fieldwork, in particular Emily Clark. We thank Robert Montgomerie for the use of his CLR5 program for analysis of feather color and Lynn Siefferman for advice on color analyses. Funding was provided by research grants from Bob and Julia Bollinger and the Payne County Audubon Society to JLB and a Niblack Research Fellowship and Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in Science fellowship to AHS. Support was also provided by the Department of Zoology and the College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma State University.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

Research was approved by the Oklahoma State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and complies with the laws and regulations of the United States of America.

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  1. Department of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, 501 Life Sciences West, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA

    Jennifer L. Grindstaff, Matthew B. Lovern, Jennifer L. Burtka & Alesia Hallmark-Sharber

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  1. Jennifer L. Grindstaff
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  2. Matthew B. Lovern
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  3. Jennifer L. Burtka
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Correspondence to Jennifer L. Grindstaff.

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Grindstaff, J.L., Lovern, M.B., Burtka, J.L. et al. Structural coloration signals condition, parental investment, and circulating hormone levels in Eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis). J Comp Physiol A 198, 625–637 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-012-0735-0

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