WHY DO FEMALES ENGAGE IN EXTRA-PAIR COPULATIONS - A REVIEW OF HYPOTHESES AND THEIR PREDICTIONS

Behavioural ecologists have become aware that extra-pair copulations f orm a major element of avian mating behaviour. Previously, attention w as focused primarily on the benefits of this behaviour to males. Howev er now that it is realized that females are not just passive participa nts, but instead may be largely in control of which male fathers their young, the major goal is to understand what females gain from extra-p air copulations. In this paper we summarize some of the existing hypot heses and we advance and discuss some new predictions that may open pe rspectives for future research.