Abstract
Recent studies have suggested that structural-based coloration is an honest signal of male genetic and/or conditional quality in sexual selection. However, whether structural coloration functions in intrasexual competition is unknown. We examined whether plumage color functions as a status signal during intrasexual interactions in the red-flanked bushrobin Tarsiger cyanurus; adult males have many blue plumes as structural coloration whereas yearling males and females are olive brown with few blue plumages. Blue males did not always dominate olive-brown males. The number of interactions did not differ with the colors of the two birds involved. The interactions of a blue male and an olive-brown male were less aggressive than those of two blue or of two olive-brown males. In this study, we found that structural plumage coloration may serve as a signal of aggressive intent and lower the escalation level of an aggressive interaction in a manner consistent with hypotheses regarding the evolution of delayed plumage maturation.
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Acknowledgements
We are extremely grateful to Mr. K. Tanaka for his assistance throughout the study. Dr. Eiiti Kasuya provided critical comments on statistical analysis. Critical comments from Dr. Barbara Ballentine and an anonymous reviewer improved the manuscript greatly. Y. Ushida and Y. Sudo helped in the field. We also thank the staff of the Higashi-Fuji-sansou and Kikuya mountain loges who encouraged our fieldwork.
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Morimoto, G., Yamaguchi, N. & Ueda, K. Plumage color as a status signal in male–male interaction in the red-flanked bushrobin, Tarsiger cyanurus. J Ethol 24, 261–266 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-005-0187-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-005-0187-x