The Role of Male Ornaments and Courtship Behavior in Female Mate Choice of Red Jungle Fowl

Abstract

Mate-choice experiments allowing a female red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) to choose between two roosters showed female preferences for several male secondary sex characters. In 1987, male comb length was most strongly related to mating success, with eye color and the color of some ornamental feathers also being important in choice. In 1988, males with darker, redder eyes were again chosen more frequently, but comb color explained a significant portion of mating-success variation, whereas comb length was unimportant. Females did not choose older males over younger ones, but, in our sample, older and younger roosters did not differ on the basis of traits used in making choices. Male courtship behavior was generally not significantly different between chosen and unchosen males, and behavior was not correlated with morphological characters. Comb characteristics are facultative and are probably good indicators of individual condition, suggesting that females using these traits to distinguish among males could be obtaining good genes for their offspring.