The relationship between finch’s song and breeding quality

[Mortisha]

It makes sense for a male to signal to his partner about his condition and qualities, because that information is useful to a female in deciding when, and how many offspring to produce. It may be detrimental to a male to falsely signal his quality to his partner.

In the short-term, low quality males can potentially bluff and perhaps dig deeper into their reserves. But when there is a true cost to a signal, it is increasingly difficult to maintain such bluff over the long-term, and it might cause long-term damage (if the male chooses singing over foraging, for example).

If the female tailors her reproduction to his signal, and the number of young she believes he is capable of feeding, then they may end up with too many offspring, none of which will get enough food to ensure healthy development. The male and the female will therefore both lose out in the long-run.


http://theconversation.edu.au/birds-and ... ting-11520

[TomDeGraaff]

I think it is in every male's makeup to surely overperform in courtship. This gets him more opportunities to father offspring.

However, it is also in the female's interest to know when she is being hoodwinked !!! She needs to be able to gauge the chances for reproductive success with any particular male or shee could hurt her chances of good reproductive success.

I wonder how all that works?