‘Cheating’ birds change their tune
Female pied flycatchers can now detect whether a male is already mated by listening to his song. Mated males sing shorter, less varied tunes, helping females avoid partners that won’t invest in raising chicks. This clever adaptation gives females a better chance of finding reliable mates.
A suitor’s mating status is important to a female pied flycatcher because males (one shown) that split their time between two nests provide less help raising chicks.
Science News
