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Carotenoid-based ornaments are often considered to be honest indicators of individual quality assessed by potential mates. However, males can use a variety of strategies that minimize the amount of costly carotenoids used while retaining the effectiveness of color signaling. Birds could do this by altering pigment intake, metabolism, or its presentation to a potential signal receiver. Here, we propose a new mechanism of lowering the costs of carotenoid displays in birds: differential allocation of pigments within single feathers. We studied the coloration of the yellow terminal tail bands of rectrices of male Bohemian waxwings. Using reflectance spectrometry, we show that the two central rectrices are most intensively colored compared to other rectrices. More detailed analyses reveal that these differences result from feather-specific patterns of rectrices coloration. The outer feather vanes of the outermost rectrices are more intensively colored compared to the inner vanes. However, the central rectrices have equally colored vanes that are, on average, more intensively pigmented than the outermost rectrices. When the waxwing tail is folded, the outermost rectrices are covered by other feathers, except for the narrow, outer vane. Central rectrices, however, form the outermost layers which are not obscured by other tail feathers. Thus, the feather vanes that are the most visible to potential viewers are also the most pigmented. These results support the occurrence of a previously overlooked mechanism to reduce the costs of carotenoid-based ornaments: precise pigment distribution to maximize efficiency of signals within single feathers.

How to reduce the costs of ornaments without reducing their effectiveness? An example of a mechanism from carotenoid-based plumage