Female zebra finches prefer unfamiliar males but not when watching noninteractive video

Abstract

There is great interest in investigating whether video can be used as an effective stimulus in avian behavioural research. Although there are clear predictions as to the efficacy and limitations of video, there are few empirical tests of whether video stimuli can elicit naturalistic behaviours in birds. Here we assess whether noninteractive digital video presented on flat thin-film transistor (TFT) monitors can be used in zebra finch mate choice studies. Specifically, we tested whether female finches prefer their pair-bonded male over an unfamiliar male when these males are presented as live birds or as noninteractive video images. Our data indicate that, when auditory cues are masked by white noise, female zebra finches strongly prefer to court unfamiliar live males. We hypothesize that the preference for unfamiliar males results from the masking of auditory cues that are crucial to pair-bond maintenance. In video stimulus trials, although females actively courted the video images of males more than they did live males in the live male trials, females did not prefer the unfamiliar males over their pair-bonded males. Therefore, noninteractive digital video presented on TFT screens solicits courtship behaviour from females but also fundamentally changes their mate preferences. We discuss these patterns in light of the possible visual and behavioural differences between the video and live male stimuli and conclude that video displayed on TFT monitors must be used with caution in mate preference studies.