How to distinguish me is a male?Some female hummingbirds evolve like male hummingbirds

Recently, the Biological Diversity Protection and Green Development Foundation (referred to as the China Green Fair, Green Association) bird watching group learned from the world -renowned journal that a new study shows that some female hummingbird evolved like a male hummingbird -obviously it is obviously it is To avoid attacks. The Green Bird Watching Working Group now compiles this article as follows as a reference for interesting readers.

Picture source: Irene MENDEZ CRUZ

White -necked Jacob Bird's feathers were blue and white when they were young. When they mature, the male will retain this dazzling pattern, and the female will develop more "soft" green and white -at least most female. Strangely, about 20%of females will break the routine until mature and still retain male feathers.

"Why do some Jacobins look like males?" This is a mystery composed of multiple parts, "said Jay Falk, a post -doctoral researcher at the University of Washington." Is there any benefit? " Is the cost? Is this just the appearance, or do these females look like male? "

These fragments are now forming slowly. In a study published on September 7, 2022 in the "The Royal Society B" (The Royal Society B), Holk and his joint writers at Washington University, Cornell University and Columbia University reported that long The white -necked Jacober with male feathers is imitating the appearance of male -but not male behavior. In addition, their strength and body shape are not similar to male, but similar to other feathers.

Studies have shown that one -fifth of adult females with male feathers are "deceived imitation": they are essentially trying to disguise as male, rather than showing male. In the process, they have received great benefits. Just as Form and his colleagues published in a paper published in the "Current Biology" last year, female females with male feathers are less male than female females with more typical soft feathers. Attack, and can stay there for a longer time.

A white -necked hummingbird with male feathers. Picture source: Cornell Bird Bird Laboratory

When Holk started a graduate student at Cornell University, he continued to conduct the study during the post-doctoral period. Cooperators Alexandro Rico Guevara were professors at the University of Washington University. It is also the head of the Bird of Natural History and Culture of Washington University of Washington.

White -collar Jacobers are common in tropical low places in the Americas. Simply put, the male of this species is a bully. They defend the territory and drive their opponents from the source of the food, ask for puppets and fight. This aggressive behavior depends on the potential difference between body size and physiological functions: Compared with dark females, male Jacobins are larger and better at fighting.

There is a suspended problem in Forte's previous studies, whether the females with male feathers also show male flight abilities or behaviors. At a field base in Panama, he briefly captured two types of feathers, male Jacobin and female Jacobin. He found that no matter what feathers, the size of the female body and wings is basically the same, and the male is slightly larger. Before released these birds, Form also tested their "explosive power" -the muscle ability during flight -how high can fly when they observe them with a series of aggressive beads. Both feathers have the same explosive power, and males can raise more things on average.

The research team also used the data of the wild radio labeling birds to find more males to eat under the "territory" model -spend longer in a small amount of food place. All females, no matter what feathers, show the opposite model: the time for foraging on a larger territory is shorter.

Most adult female white -necked Jacob Bin's typical illustrations (as shown in the left), as well as the blue and white feathers of all males and about 20%of adult female hummingbirds (right). Picture source: phys.org

"Female with male feathers with male feathers seems to be no different from other females." "All evidence shows that women who look like male are deceiving imitation."

Many deceitful imitation examples occur between species: a harmless species will imitate the color of a harmful species as a anti -predator defense. For example, in the Americas, some non -toxic king snake species have evolved in color striped patterns similar to toxic species in the same area, such as coral snakes. Research published in the magazine of Nature in 2002 showed that this deceitful imitation reduced the predation of the king snake because the king snake was non -toxic. Holk and his colleagues seemed to be an example of deceptive imitation in species in the Baiyejobin.

Scientists have reported that the females of other hummingbirds also have male feathers. If this is the case, the male mimic state in the hummingbird species may be more common than the current known. Next year, Holk will go to the University of Colorado to study the genetic differences between females and males that are not obvious in feathers, and may find out how this deception is evolved.

But the differences between the sexes are not all.

Organize: Lucy

Review: daisy

Edit: Pierre

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