Extrapair copulations in western bluebirds ( Sialia mexicana ): female receptivity favors older males

Abstract

Extrapair paternity has been the focus of numerous studies of socially monogamous birds, but the dynamics of extrapair male-female interactions have been explored in relatively few. In western bluebirds (Sialia mexicana), a species with 20% extrapair paternity, two to four observers monitored extrapair copulations (EPCs) occurring on the female's home territory while her social mate was detained in a cage near the nest. Detention elevated the frequency and visibility of EPCs, so we could score receptivity of females to identifiable extrapair males without the interference of intermale aggression. Most intruding extrapair males were neighboring breeders visiting outside their own mate's fertile period. Local male relatives of the detained male attempted nonincestuous EPCs, but neighboring sons did not attempt to copulate with their mothers and, in some cases, chased away intruders. Female receptivity was not influenced by whether the detained mate was visually present or hidden behind cloth and did not increase with the persistence or relative size of the extrapair male. Female receptivity increased with the age difference between the extrapair male and the female's social mate, suggesting that females prefer older males as extrapair partners. This study suggests that costs of resistance are relatively unimportant in determining female receptivity in western bluebirds, but identifies preferential receptivity to older males as a potential factor in the outcome of inter- and intrasexual conflict over paternity.