Intraspecific signaling function of Crown Coloration in Mountain White-Crowned Sparrows
Abstract
There is evidence showing that large differences between age/sex categories in crown morphology of white-crowned sparrows are used to signal status. We investigated the role of more subtle crown characteristics, specifically the proportion of the crown that is white, as a signal used to mediate aggression. The response of resident white-crowned sparrows was measured when decoys with experimentally altered crowns were placed on their territory. We found significant differences between a large and small proportion white decoy treatments when the birds were still nesting early in the season, suggesting proportion white is used as a signal in this system. However, we found no significant results later in the season or when all the trials were analyzed as a whole, suggesting a strong seasonality effect in the responsiveness of the birds.
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