MATE CHOICE AND PAIR FORMATION IN TIMOR AND AUSTRALIAN MAINLAND ZEBRA FINCHES

Mate choice and pair formation of captive zebra finches from the Australian mainland, Taeniopygia guttata castanotis, and from Timor, T. g guttata, were compared. In the multiple mate-choice test, an individual could show a preference for perching near a particular bird but could not form a pair bond (e.g. by clumping together). In the pair-formation test, individuals in a flock in an aviary were allowed to form pairs freely. The two subspecies preferred members of their own subspecies in mate-choice tests and mated assortatively in the aviary. When females were presented with Timor males, half of whom had been painted to resemble Mainland males, Timor females both preferred and paired with unpainted Timor males whereas Mainland females approached both unpainted and painted Timor males but paired with the latter. When Mainland males were introduced into the aviary only three out of 10 of these Mainland females re-paired with Mainland males, reflecting the stability of the pair bond. Males and females generally paired with the bird they preferred in the initial mate-choice tests, if that individual was not already paired. In mate-choice tests conducted after pair formation, mott birds preferred the individial they had already paired with. However, those that paired last and had not laid eggs preferred the bird they had chosen in the first mate-choice test rather than the individual they paired with in the aviary. © 1990 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.