Variation in Color of Male House Finches

Michener, Harold; Michener, Josephine R.

doi:10.2307/1363929

Cited by 52 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Yearling females that molt early or late in the season may tend to grow feathers in an environment that is richer in carotenoid pigments than that experienced by molting adults. In contrast, yearling male House Finches may tend to be less brightly plumaged than adult males (Michener and Michener 1931 ;Gill and Lanyon 1965;Hill 1992) because males, directly or indirectly, compete for carotenoid resources, and yearlings do relatively poorly in such competition (Hill 1992). Active foraging for carotenoid pigments by males may diminish the effect of seasonal variation in carotenoid availability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The proximate basis of inter- and intra-population variation in female plumage coloration in the House Finch

Hill¹

1993

Can. J. Zool.

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HILL, G. E. 1993. The proximate basis of inter-and intra-population variation in female plumage coloration in the House Finch. Can. J. Zool. 71: 619-627. As in many sexually dichromatic species in which males are brightly colored, female House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) show a subdued expression of the same coloration as males. I quantified the carotenoid plumage coloration of females from the subspecies C. m. frontalis in Michigan, New York, Hawaii Island, and two sites in California, and from the subspecies C. m. griscomi in Guerrero, Mexico. The proportion of females with detectable carotenoid pigmentation differed significantly among populations, as did the median plumage brightness of colorful females. In Michigan, but not California, yearling females tended to be more colorful than older females. Among C. m. frontalis populations, there was a significant positive correlation between the plumage brightness of females and males, but in the C. m. griscomi population males were brightly colored while ,females were drab. In aviary experiments, females of all ages and from all populations converged on a similar plumage brightness after molt when fed a common diet. Moreover, females from all populations showed maximum color expression when provided with abundant red carotenoid pigments. These observations suggest that local and regional variation in the plumage brightness of females reflects local and regional variation in the availability of dietary carotenoid pigments and that female House Finches do not actively forage for carotenoids.HILL, G. E. 1993. The proximate basis of inter-and intra-population variation in female plumage coloration in the House Finch. Can. J. Zool. 71 : 619-627. Comme chez plusieurs espkces dichromatiques chez lesquelles les miles sont brillamment colores, les femelles du Roselin familier (Carpodacus mexicanus) exhibent une version attenuee de la coloration des miles. 11 a kt6 possible de mesurer quantitativement l'intensite de la coloration carotenoi'de des femelles chez les sous-espkces C. m. frontalis du Michigan, du New York, de l'ile d'Hawai' et de deux sites de Californie, et C. m. griscomi de Guerrero au Mexique. Le pourcentage de femelles qui posskdaient une coloration carotenoi'de detectable variait significativement d'une population a une autre; il en allait de m6me de l'eclat du plumage des femelles les plus colorees. Au Michigan, mais non en Californie, les femelles d'un an avaient tendance a 6tre plus brillamment colorees que les femelles plus igees. Chez les populations de C. m. frontalis, l'eclat du plumage des femelles montrait une correlation positive significative avec celui des miles, mais chez la population de C. m. griscomi, les miles avaient beaucoup d'eclat, alors que les femelles etaient ternes. Dans une experience en volikre, des femelles de tous les iges et de toutes les localites avaient tendance a developper un plumage d'eclat semblable aprks la mue lorsqu'elles ktaient nourries d'une meme dikte. De plus, les femelles de toutes les populations exhibaient ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The proximate basis of inter- and intra-population variation in female plumage coloration in the House Finch

Hill¹

1993

Can. J. Zool.

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“…The house finch is a sexually dichromatic passerine bird with ornamental carotenoid pigmentation in the feathers of the crown, rump and underside (Grinnell 1911;Hill 1993a). Ornamental coloration in males varies from pale yellow to bright red (Michener & Michener 1931;Hill 1990Hill , 1992Hill , 1993a. In females, this ornamental coloration is more variable.…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Dietary Carotenoids on Plasma and Plumage Colour in the House Finch: Intra- and Intersexual Variation

Hill¹,

Montgomerie²,

Inouye³

et al. 1994

Functional Ecology

104

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1. Although carotenoid pigments cause much of the red, orange, yellow and violet coloration in feathers, the processes by which carotenoids are transported from the diet to those feathers are poorly understood. 2. Male house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) display substantial variation in expression of carotenoid-based plumage coloration, an ornamental trait known to influence female choice. 3. To test the hypothesis that variation in carotenoid pigmentation of feathers is caused by processes that occur before the uptake of carotenoids by follicle cells during moult, we compared the hues of blood plasma and growing feathers in three populations (two in California and one in Mexico) of house finches that differed in median male plumage brightness. 4. In all three populations, there was a significant positive correlation between the hues of plasma and plumage in males, but there were no significant correlations between the hues of plasma and plumage in females. 5. In all three populations, the plasma hue of adult males was significantly brighter red than that of adult females; the plasma hue of males from the two brightly plumaged populations was also significantly brighter red than that of males from the drabber population. 6. These results suggest that sex-specific differences in the expression of carotenoid pigmentation and intraspecific variation in the expression of male plumage coloration is the result of processes that occur before carotenoid uptake by follicle cells during feather growth (e.g. due to the influence of foraging behaviour, gut parasites or food quality).

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“…The house ¢nch is a small, sexually dichromatic cardueline ¢nch averaging 13 cm in length and 20 g in mass (Hill 1993a). Males exhibit carotenoid-based plumage coloration on their head, breast and rump, with colours ranging from pale yellow to bright red (Michener & Michener 1931;Hill 1993b). There is little geographical variation in body size or male plumage coloration among eastern USA populations of house ¢nches (Hill 1993a;G.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex, size, and plumage redness predict house finch survival in an epidemic

Nolan

Hill

Stoehr

1998

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

150

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Mycoplasma gallisepticum is a well-known disease of poultry, but until 1994 it had not been observed in passerine birds. From 1994 to 1996, tens of millions of house ¢nches (Carpodacus mexicanus) are believed to have died in an epidemic of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis, similar to`pinkeye' in humans. The outbreak of Mycoplasma gallisepticum a¡ected ¢nches of both sexes, but disproportionately killed males, shifting the sex ratio from male-biased to female-biased. This di¡erential male mortality is consistent with a cost of testosterone, which is a key prediction of the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis. Males and females that survived the epidemic weighed signi¢cantly less and had signi¢cantly shorter wing chords, tarsi, and bills than did individuals before the epidemic. Male survivors also had signi¢cantly redder plumage than males that did not survive, supporting the idea that plumage brightness serves as an indicator of condition, as proposed by the honest advertisement model of sexual selection.

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Variation in Color of Male House Finches

Cited by 52 publications

References 6 publications

The proximate basis of inter- and intra-population variation in female plumage coloration in the House Finch

The proximate basis of inter- and intra-population variation in female plumage coloration in the House Finch

Influence of Dietary Carotenoids on Plasma and Plumage Colour in the House Finch: Intra- and Intersexual Variation

Sex, size, and plumage redness predict house finch survival in an epidemic

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