The effect of recent experience on female choice in zebra finches

In zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, females prefer males that display at a high rate. In these experiments the effect of a female's experience on this preference was tested. Females were presented with a pair of males before and after being exposed to one of three treatments: (1) males with a low display rate, (2) males with a high display rate, or (3) no new males. Female preference for the male of the initial pair that displayed more was affected by the above treatments. Females increased their relative preference for this male if they had been exposed to males with a low display rate, decreased their preference if exposed to males with a high display rate, and did not change their preference if exposed to no new males. To test whether the changes in preference were sexual, the experiment was repeated with female pairs before and after the intervening treatments. There was no effect of the treatments on female preference for female pairs. The implications of these results for models of sexual selection and mate-choice strategies are discussed.