The spectral sensitivity of a passerine bird is highest in the UV

✍ Scribed by D. Burkhardt; E. Maier

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 205 KB
• Volume: 76
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0028-1042
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00396716

✦ Synopsis

males were forced to autotomize one hind leg. Whether the females give preference to intact males over handicapped ones was counted from pairs copulating. These observations continued over a period of 2 months. The results, illustrated in Fig. 1, show a strong bias against mutilated males. They were involved in matings in only 11 070 of the observed copulations. Apparently the mating success of males with one hind leg is drastically reduced.

We take these results as an indication that the female grasshopper Ch. biguttulus can base its choice of a partner upon specific characteristics of the male's song.