Skip to main content
Log in

Mixed reproductive strategy and mate guarding in a semi-colonial passerine, the swallow Hirundo rustica

  • Published:
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

Both male and female swallows Hirundo rustica have a mixed reproductive strategy (parental care for offspring and extra-pair couplations). Mate guarding protects females from male harassment and male swallows from being cuckolded. Females hide their fertile period by copulating successfully with their mates for an extended period during first clutches. Males guard in the pre-fertile period, when many unpaired males are present. Early breeding swallows guard more than late breeders since more sexual chases of females by non-mate males take place in the early period. Solitarily breeding females experience few chases by strange males; copulation frequency, length of copulation period and mate guarding is adjusted to a lower level than among colonial birds. Male guarding activity is more intense in the fertile than in the pre-fertile period. Guarding reduces success of extra-pair copulation attempts.

Three female swallows each paired and copulated with a single male and later changed to a new male before starting to breed. Extra-pair copulations most often take place between neighbouring swallows in the fertile period of the female. Many old, early breeding males and many young, late breeding females participate in extra-pair couplations. Successful extra-pair copulations peak in the fertile period contrary to success of pair copulations which does not change during the copulation period.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bateman AJ (1948) Intrasexual selection in Drosophila. Heredity 2:349–368

    Google Scholar 

  • Beecher MD, Beecher IM (1979) Sociobiology of bank swallows: reproductive strategy of the male. Science 205:1282–1285

    Google Scholar 

  • Birkhead TR (1979) Mate guarding in the magpie Pica pica. Anim Behav 26:321–331

    Google Scholar 

  • Birkhead TR (1982) Timing and duration of mate guarding in magpies, Pica pica. Anim Behav 30:277–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Bishop YMM, Fienberg SE, Holland PW (1975) Discrete multivariate analysis: theory and practice. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass

    Google Scholar 

  • Buitron D (1983) Extra-pair courtship in black-billed magpies. Anim Behav 31:211–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Burger J (1981) Sexual differences in parental activities of breeding black skimmers. Am Nat 117:975–984

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns J, Cheng K, McKinney F (1980) Forced copulations in captive mallards: I. Fertilization of eggs. Auk 97:875–879

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler RW (1982) Wing fluttering by mud-gathering cliff-swallows. Avoidance of “rape” attempts? Auk 99:758–761

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawkins R (1976) The selfish gene. Oxford University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewsbury DA (1982) Ejaculate cost and male choice. Am Nat 119:601–610

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitch MA, Shugart GW (1984) Requirements for a mixed reproductive strategy in avian species. Am Nat 124:116–126

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujioka M, Yamagishi S (1981) Extramarital and pair copulations in the cattle egret. Auk 98:134–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Gladstone DE (1979) Promiscuity in monogamous colonial birds. Am Nat 114:545–557

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton WD (1964) The genetical evolution of social behavior. J Theor Biol 7:1–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammond J (1952) Fertility. In: Parkes AS (ed) Marshall's physiology of reproduction, vol 2, 3rd edn. Longmans, New York, pp 648–740

    Google Scholar 

  • King AS (1982) Phallus. In: King AS, McLelland J (eds) Form and function in birds. Academic Press, New York, pp 107–147

    Google Scholar 

  • Lumpkin S (1981) Avoidance of cuckoldry in birds: the role of the female. Anim Behav 29:303–304

    Google Scholar 

  • Mineau P, Cooke F (1979) Rape in lesser snow goose. Behaviour 70:280–291

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris RD, Bidochka MJ (1982) Mate-guarding in herring gulls. Colon Waterbirds 5:124–129

    Google Scholar 

  • Mumme RL, Koenig WD, Pitelka FA (1983) Mate guarding in the Acorn Woodpecker: within-group reproductive competition in a cooperate breeder. Anim Behav 31:1094–1106

    Google Scholar 

  • Power HW, Doner CGP, (1980) Experiments on cuckoldry in the mountain bluebird. Am Nat 116:689–704

    Google Scholar 

  • Power HW, Litovich E, Lombardo M (1981) Male starlings delay incubation to avoid being cuckolded. Auk 98:386–389

    Google Scholar 

  • Sikal RR, Rohlf FJ (1981) Biometry. Freeman, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Svensson L (1975) Identification guide to European passerines. Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm

    Google Scholar 

  • Tienhoven A van (1983) Reproductive physiology of vertebrates. Cornell University Press, Ithaca

    Google Scholar 

  • Trivers RL (1972) Parental investment and sexual selection. In: Campbell B (ed) Sexual selection and the descent of man. Aldine, Chicago, pp 136–179

    Google Scholar 

  • Vietinghoff-Riesch A von (1955) Die Rauchschwalbe. Duncker and Humblot, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Wetherhead PJ, Robertson RJ (1979) Offspring quality and the polygamy threshold: “the sexy son hypothesis’. Am Nat 113:201–208

    Google Scholar 

  • Werschkul DF (1982) Nesting ecology of the little blue heron: promiscuous behavior. Condor 84:381–384

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Møller, A.P. Mixed reproductive strategy and mate guarding in a semi-colonial passerine, the swallow Hirundo rustica . Behav Ecol Sociobiol 17, 401–408 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00293220

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00293220

Keywords

Navigation