Elsevier

Animal Behaviour

Volume 48, Issue 2, August 1994, Pages 401-409
Animal Behaviour

Regular Article
Male philopatry confers a mating advantage in the migratory collared flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis

https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1994.1254Get rights and content

Abstract

Abstract. The potential benefits of philopatry versus dispersal were investigated in yearling males of the migratory collared flycatcher on the island of Gotland, Sweden. Data on mating success from 4 years showed that philopatric males (i.e. hatched in the nestbox plot) mated more quickly after arrival than immigrant males and were less likely to remain unmated. Among mated males, however, there was no significant difference in reproductive success between philopatric and immigrant males. Data on nestbox preferences gathered from 8 years revealed that philopatric males on average chose higher-ranked boxes than immigrant males. Male mating success was associated with the preference score of the nestbox, suggesting that the observed mating advantage of philopatric males was probably a consequence of the higher quality of their nest site. It is suggested that prior local experience facilitates nest site selection in philopatric birds when high search costs force individuals to choose between a small number of alternative sites. Dispersal may partly be a consequence of prohibitively high time costs of searching and finding the way back home. Male-biased philopatry in the collared flycatcher may then be a result of a sex-difference in the time costs of searching for and assessing alternative sites.

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