Data from: Female ornamentation is correlated with weather conditions during molt in Protonotaria citrea (Prothonotary Warblers): A 13-year study

Avian species have inspired numerous studies on ornamentation, exploring
its role in intra- and intersexual selection as a marker for individual
quality. Male birds have been the focus of most studies of plumage
coloration, even though females can also display ornamentation. Coloration
added to feathers during their growth, particularly carotenoid-based
pigments, is derived from food resources. As weather patterns affect food
availability and abundance, there may be a link between weather conditions
during molt and feather coloration in the subsequent breeding season. We
collected 474 breast feather samples from 329 unique female Protonotaria
citrea (Prothonotary Warbler) and 436 crown feather samples from 310
females across 13 years (2010-2023) in eastern Virginia, USA, to assess
relationships between temperature and precipitation during molt and breast
and crown feather reflectance metrics the following year. We considered
conditions in both the breeding and nonbreeding seasons as possible
drivers of crown reflectance because at least some feathers are replaced
during a previously undescribed limited prealternate molt. Breast and
crown violet-blue chroma was lower, and breast yellow intensity was higher
following cooler and wetter conditions during the late summer molt and not
the winter prealternate molt. The negative impact of warmer temperatures
on breast yellow intensity was greater in younger females. These results
provide insight into how climate conditions affect female plumage
coloration, which has previously been linked to reproductive success, and
may aid in understanding the impacts of climate change on carotenoids as
honest signals of individual condition.