Male quality and conspecific scent preferences in the house finch, Carpodacus mexicanus

• Published in: Animal behaviour Vol. 84; no. 6; pp. 1483 - 1489
• Main Authors: Amo, Luisa, López-Rull, Isabel, Pagán, Iluminada, Macías Garcia, Constantino
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2012; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Ltd
• Subjects: animal behavior; Animal cognition; Animal reproduction; avian olfaction; Birds; breeding season; Carpodacus mexicanus; chemical ecology; Fringillidae; intrasexual interaction; male quality; males; mate choice; mating behavior; Odors; sex recognition; smell; male quality; avian olfaction; chemical ecology; intrasexual interaction; Carpodacus mexicanus; mate choice; sex recognition
• ISSN: 0003-3472; 1095-8282
• DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.09.021

There is increasing evidence that birds use chemical cues in different contexts, and this is changing the traditional view that birds are the only largely olfaction-free vertebrates. We performed a choice experiment to examine whether male house finches exhibit any preferences for the sex of conspecifics when only their chemical cues are available. When exposed during the breeding season to the scent of a male and a female, males appeared to respond indiscriminately to both odours. However, when we analysed a posteriori the choices of males in relation to their relative quality, males with worse quality than scent donor males avoided the male-scented area, whereas males with better quality moved towards the male-scented area. Our results suggest that in the context of mate choice/competition for mates, house finches may obtain information via olfaction to assess the quality of rival males. ► We examined whether Carpodacus mexicanus uses olfaction in a social context. ► House finch males were offered the choice between the scent of a male and a female. ► The preferences of males for the male or female scent were related to their quality. ► Low quality males avoided the male-scented area and good males moved towards it. ► Our results suggest that birds may assess the quality of rival males via olfaction.