Geographic variation in male ornamentation and female mate preference in the house finch: a comparative test of models of sexual selection

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Abstract
I compared the mate preferences of female house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) from populations in which males differ in both plumage coloration and the extent of ventral pigmentation (patch size). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the small patch of ventral coloration displayed by males in some populations is derived from a larger-patched ancestral state. Regardless of the appearance of males in their own populations, however, females from all populations showed a preference for the most brightly colored males and males with the largest patches. A reduction in patch size independent of a change in female mate preference is not consistent with sensory-bias or reproductive isolation models of sexual selection or with general predictions of runaway models of sexual selection. In contrast, a lack of congruence between female mate preference and male trait expression is predicted by the honest advertisement model, with house finches responding to variation in regional and local access to carotenoid plumage pigments.

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