WHEN female starlings pick a mate, the ultraviolet glow of the males鈥� chest
feathers plays a critical role in their decision, says a report in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (vol 94, p 8618).
Some birds have eyes that process UV light as well as light visible to
humans. To investigate how this affects starlings鈥� mating preferences, a team
led by Andrew Bennett of the University of Bristol first presented a group of
males to different females.
The pattern of throat coloration appeared to determine which male was most
popular. But when the researchers blocked out UV light with a filter placed
between the birds, the females consistently selected different males. 鈥淭his
suggests that they based their decision on some characteristic other than colour
visible in the human range,鈥� says Bennett.
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