Some males have to rely on the support of their mates to score points in front of the female. The case is similar to that of two guys who approach a pretty girl in a bar, hoping that one of them is lucky.
This behavior is not exactly the generosity of the guys, but in fact the support character will profit from it later by helping his friend juggle her with her.
Helpers of the sharp-tailed manakin (Chiroxiphia lanceolata) will be more likely to star than guys who refuse to take supporting roles, said researcher Emily DuVal at the University of California, United States.
Politeness and vigor may not be necessary in a man’s flirtation, but both are necessary in a manakin saw. Male couples perform complex acrobatic and flight dances to seduce the female. When the stage wanes, only the primary male has the chance to approach it, while the secondary bird leaves.
To find out how beneficial this relationship would be with the pompano, DuVal followed more than 450 manakins on the island of Isla de Boca in Panama. From 1999 to 2004, she tracked changes in the social status of birds and examined genes to determine their relatedness.
The results showed that the males were not closely related, ruling out the idea that the helper bird helps its sibling pass on the family genome. The additional birds rarely help her give birth, as such they are not beneficial in terms of reproduction.
Instead, additional birds will benefit later. About 15% of the offspring become the main offspring the following year, but not always in the same territory.
One way to be played is to become an expert at flirting. Thus, the support bird will learn sophisticated flirting skills while helping the main character. Support birds are generally younger than the protagonist, further proof that this is a learning bird.
“Our results show that they will benefit from supportive roles such as learning from their predecessors and find ways to ally themselves with other men to later play supportive roles for them,” said DuVal.
