We also compared plumage color between mated individuals and found an unexpected pattern of disassortative mating: more black and saturated birds pair with more gray and unsaturated birds. Plumage may be a signal allowing individuals to choose a genetically dissimilar mate. 4/5

Most bird color studies focus on flashy species with obvious sex differences. Here, we found that even drab, seemingly monochromatic species can show subtle variation that is nearly impossible for humans to perceive! 5/5 tinyurl.com/5berv84a

Subtle, but perceptible, sexual dichromatism and disassortative mating based on plumage reflectance ...

bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution