Premium
Sexual differences in colour and size in the G reat S potted C uckoo C lamator glandarius
Author(s) -
MacíasSánchez Elena,
Martínez Juan G.,
Avilés Jesús M.,
Soler Manuel
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/ibi.12045
Subject(s) - plumage , sexual dimorphism , sexual selection , crypsis , biology , zoology , ecology , predation
The appearance of plumage in brood parasites represents an evolutionary conflict between sexual selection that favours colourful plumages, and parasite–host coevolution that favours crypsis. In this study we quantified the degree of sexual dimorphism from a sample of 179 Great Spotted Cuckoos and determined which features facilitate accurate sex discrimination. In addition, we collected spectrophotometric measures of two colour patches (the crown and the throat) and ran visual models to test for physical and bird‐perceivable sexual differences in coloration. We found that males are bigger and brighter than females in both colour patches. Using visual modelling techniques we demonstrate for the first time that adult Great Spotted Cuckoos are sexually dichromatic in an avian visual framework.