ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2021
Male-like female morphs in hummingbirds: the evolution of a widespread sex-limited plumage polymorphism.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hypotheses for the Adaptive Maintenance of Phenotypic Polymorphisms.Ecology and evolution · 2026Review
- There is No Consensus on Biological Sex.Ecology letters · 2026Article
- Evolution, Development, and the Incoherence of Sex: A Framework for Multiple Sex Concepts.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Article
- Male-Like Plumage in an Urban Nesting Veraguan Mango: Evidence of a Female-Limited Polymorphism?Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Evolution: A kit for fooling your rivals.Current biology : CB · 2024Article
- Evolution and genetic architecture of sex-limited polymorphism in cuckoos.Science advances · 2024Article
- Multivariate study of lice (Insecta: Psocodea: Phthiraptera) assemblages hosted by hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae).Parasitology · 2024Article
- The evolution of sexually dimorphic traits in ecological gradients: an interplay between natural and sexual selection in hummingbirds.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
- Female dewlap ornaments are evolutionarily labile and associated with increased diversification rates inProceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
- Intersexual social dominance mimicry drives female hummingbird polymorphism.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
- The evolutionary history and mechanistic basis of female ornamentation in a tropical songbird.Evolution; international journal of organic evolution · 2022Article
- Male-like female morphs in hummingbirds: the evolution of a widespread sex-limited plumage polymorphism.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Differences in the way males and females look or behave are common in animals. However, discrete variation within sexes (sex-limited polymorphism) also occurs in several vertebrate and invertebrate lineages. In birds, female-limited polymorphism (FLP) in which some females resemble males in coloration is most prominent in hummingbirds, a group known for its morphological and behavioural sexual dimorphism. Yet, it remains unclear whether this intrasexual colour variation in hummingbirds arises through direct selection on females, or indirectly as a non-adaptive byproduct resulting from selection on males. Here, we analysed specimens from more than 300 hummingbird species to determine the extent, evolutionary history and function of FLP. We found that FLP evolved independently in every major clade and occurs in nearly 25% of hummingbird species. Using phylogenetically informed analyses, we rejected non-adaptive hypotheses that FLP is the result of indirect selection or pleiotropy across species. Instead, FLP is associated with ecology, migratory status, and marginally with social dominance, suggesting a socioecological benefit to females. Ultimately, we show that FLP is not only widespread in hummingbirds and likely adaptive, but may also be useful for understanding the evolution of female ornamentation in systems under strong sexual selection.
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