Color and W-chromosome sequence data from study on maternal inheritance of egg mimicry

This dataset supports a study demonstrating that host-specific egg mimicry
in the brood-parasitic African cuckoo finch Anomalospiza imberbis
is maternally inherited. It includes egg reflectance spectra for the
background colour of 188 cuckoo finch eggs from four host species in
Zambia, and consensus sequences for 68 W-linked ddRAD-seq loci derived
from 80 female cuckoo finches belonging to four different host-specific
maternal lineages from three host species in Zambia. These data derive
from two partially overlapping samples of eggs: some eggs with genetic
data lacked egg spectral data, and vice versa. W-linked genetic data were
all of offspring origin as they derived from embryonic or nestling tissue.
Additional phenotypic data (host nest species and descriptions of egg
phenotype), date and location data associated with each egg spectrum are
provided in a separate file. Data on the origin of the individuals
contributing to the W-linked loci are provided in Table S1 of the
associated publication.