Breeding Season Cheats [ PREMIUM · Strategy ]

By J. S. Moraine

It’s dawn in the peat bog. A male red-winged blackbird, epaulets flashing, belts his conk-la-ree! from a cattail. He owns this marsh—or so he believes. Three females nest within his territory. He guards them with obsessive flights, chasing rival males. He is, by every measure, a success. breeding season cheats

For decades, biologists framed animal mating systems around pair bonds, territories, and “honest signals.” The idea was elegant: males compete, females choose the best, and everyone gets what they deserve. Then came the 1990s and the rise of DNA fingerprinting. The results were, in a word, scandalous. chasing rival males. He is