FEMALE CHOICE FOR MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF MALE RING-NECKED PHEASANTS

To elucidate the role of female choice in the evolutionary maintenance of some morphological features of male ring-necked pheasants, Phasian us colchicus, a series of experiments were performed with captive anim als. Mate-choice trials were made with both live males and stuffed mod els. Stimuli males were manipulated in the length of the tail, the siz e, colour and presence of black points in the wattle, the length of th e ear tufts, and the general brightness of the plumage. Tail length, l ength of the ear tufts and the presence of black points in the wattle positively influenced the females' choice but neither wattle size or c olour nor the brightness of the plumage did.