Association between cognitive abilities and secondary sexual traits in wild black-capped chickadees
Abstract
In seasonally variable environments, cognitive abilities help animals adapt to changing conditions. Non-migratory food-caching birds, like black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus), rely on specialized spatial cognition for caching and retrieving food, crucial for winter survival. While spatial cognitive performance in chickadees has been linked to fitness benefits like survival and reproduction, it is unclear how females assess male cognitive abilities. This study examined whether song and plumage serve as indicators of cognitive ability when considering dominance rank. For that, wild male chickadees were tested on tasks assessing spatial learning and memory, cognitive flexibility, and long-term memory retention. In addition, plumage reflectance was measured and fee-bee songs were recorded. Results showed that birds with brighter white plumage and greater black-white plumage contrast performed better on spatial learning and memory tasks, but none of the song variables measured were related to cognitive performance. These results suggest that female chickadees may use secondary sexual traits along with direct observation in mate selection, highlighting the complexity of sexual selection and mate choice.