Experimental tail shortening affects feeding rate depending on original tail length in female barn swallows Hirundo rustica gutturalis

• Published in: Journal of ethology Vol. 38; no. 2; pp. 179 - 184
• Main Authors: Hasegawa, Masaru, Arai, Emi, Nakamura, Masahiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Springer Japan 01.05.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aerodynamic properties; Animal behavior; Animal Ecology; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Evolutionary Biology; Feathers; Feeding; Females; Hirundo rustica gutturalis; Life Sciences; Nominations; Sexual selection; Zoology; Differential cost; Tail length; Female ornament; Hirundines; Manipulation experiment

Long tail feathers of the barn swallow Hirundo rustica are a classic example of an intersexually selected trait, but previous aerodynamic analyses indicate that the tail feather is only 10–12 mm longer than the aerodynamic optimum even in the nominate subspecies with long tails. Here, by experimenta...