Summary
In an effort to assess genealogical relationships between breeding adults and their putative offspring, we collected and analyzed blood from 257 wild, uniquely color-banded eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis). Electrophoretic analysis of the protein products of two loci, esterase-2 (EST-2) and nucleoside phosphorylase (NSP), revealed that at least 5% of adult males and 15% of adult females were caring for at least one offspring not their own. Multiple parentage was evident in 9% of all broods sampled. Twenty-five percent of complete families sampled evidenced multiple parentage. Biparental care of nestlings by adult eastern bluebirds is not necessarily a reflection of the genetic kinship between putative parents and their offspring. The consort pattern among eastern bluebirds does not completely correlate with the pattern of gametic contributions, leading to a reconsideration of their mating system as possibly polygamous. This is among the first unambiguous observations of multiple patenity in a wild bird population, and of multiple maternity in a wild passerine.
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Gowaty, P.A., Karlin, A.A. Multiple maternity and paternity in single broods of apparently monogamous eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 15, 91–95 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299374
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299374