0000000000827817
AUTHOR
Päivi Palokangas
showing 2 related works from this author
Female choice in the kestrel under different availability of mating options
1992
Abstract Mate choice in relation to its fitness consequences on females was studied in kestrels, Falco tinnunculus , in western Finland. The breeding season is short with rapidly declining prospects of successful breeding, suggesting that females should make their mating decision quickly. On average, males arrived a few days before females, but late males arrived much later than early females. Pairs were usually formed within 2 days of male arrival, and only early males were available to early females. Options for female choice differed considerably in years of different kestrel density. In a good vole year, 1988, females had many males to choose from, but in poor vole years, 1989 and 1990,…
Delayed maturation in plumage colour: Evidence for the female-mimicry hypothesis in the kestrel
1993
In many sexually dichromatic species, young males have female-like plumage during their first potential breeding year. The female-mimicry hypothesis (FMH) supposes that by possessing female-like plumage young males deceive older conspicuous males into believing that they are females, thus reducing competition from adult males. The status-signalling hypothesis (SSH) supposes that adult males can distinguish sex, but postulates that young males reduce competition from adult males by reliably signaling low status with their dull plumage. We tested these hypotheses in the European kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). Female-like young males settled to breed closer to adult males than did other adult ma…