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August 27, 2021 This story appeared in the scientific journal "Current Biology" and reveals how 20% of adult females of white-necked "Jacobin hummingbirds" have implemented a defense against aggression: they maintain a masculine plumage!
A strategy to avoid bullies and to gain better access to food.
"Interestingly, all young Jacobin hummingbirds start with male plumage," wrote Jay Falk, coordinator of the study while he was a PhD student, with Cornell University's Ornithology Laboratory while now at the University of Washington.
Falk studied a population of Jacobin hummingbirds in Panama and noted that males tend to retain more elaborate plumage as they age, and so do 20% of females. The remaining 80% changes, however, in the classic green and white plumage typical of adult females.
Although plumage adornment is usually attributed to sexual selection and mate attraction, the researchers ruled out this explanation for this species after field experiments. Scientists observed the reactions during the breeding season.
But what is the benefit for females of looking like a boy? To solve this puzzle, Falk and his assistant placed radio-frequency identification microchips on the birds, connected to 28 hard-wired power supplies to read the data. "Our tests have shown that less colored females are those at greater risk of harassment than those who maintain male plumage." long".