Evolution holds hope for ugly males. Females appear to invest extra energy in getting their poorer-quality offspring off to a good start, at least among house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus).
Female birds can deposit different amounts of health-promoting compounds in their eggs, depending on social and environmental conditions. Previous studies on zebra finches showed that females were more likely to invest in eggs fertilised by high-quality males.
Kristen Navara, now at Ohio State University in Columbus, expected to see the same pattern with house finches, in which red feathers are the hallmark of health. However, her measurements showed the opposite.…
