A male American Redstart’s song can attract attention from potential mates, but his plumage matters to females as well. When a female American Redstart is selecting a mate, colorful males are more desirable than duller males. In addition to the offspring a male will raise with his mate, brighter males may also sire young with extra-pair females.

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This video accompanies Chapter 4, Feathers and Plumages, Handbook of Bird Biology, 3rd Edition from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Wiley Publishing.

Recorded by Timothy Barksdale, Macaulay Library