Variation in plumage reflectance but not song reflects spatial cognitive performance in black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus).

ABSTRACT: In seasonally variable environments, enhanced cognitive abilities may allow animals to adjust their behavior to changing conditions. Nonmigratory food-caching birds, like chickadees, rely on specialized spatial cognition to successfully cache and retrieve food items and survive the winter. Previous studies have linked spatial cognitive performance in chickadees to enhanced fitness, including survival and reproduction; however, it remains unknown whether females assess male cognitive ability via direct observation or secondary sexual traits. In this study, we investigated whether variation in common secondary sexual traits of songbirds, song and plumage, serve as indicators of cognitive ability in black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) when accounting for dominance rank. To explore

SUBMITTER: Robayo Noguera L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11839785 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature