A global analysis of aerial displays in passerines revealed an effect of habitat, mating system and migratory traits

Aerial displaying is a flamboyant part of the sexual behaviour of several volant animal groups, including birds. Nevertheless, little attention has been focused on identifying correlates of large-scale diversity in this trait. In this study, we scored the presence and absence of aerial displays in males of 1,732 species of passerine birds (Passeriformes) and employed Bayesian phylogenetically informed mixed models to test for associations between aerial displays and a set of life-history and environmental predictors. Our multivariate models revealed that species with males that perform aerial displays inhabited open rather than closed (forested) habitats. These species also exhibited higher levels of polygyny, had more elongated wings, migrated over longer distances and bred at higher latitudes. When we included species where the sexual function of displays has not been explicitly described but is likely to occur, we found that aerial displaying was also associated with smaller body siz...空中展示行为是包括鸟类在内的多个飞行类动物类群性行为中极具观赏性的组成部分。然而，目前针对该性状的大尺度多样性关联因素的研究仍较为匮乏。本研究对1732种雀形目鸟类（Passeriformes）雄性个体的空中展示行为存在与否进行了评分，并采用贝叶斯系统发育信息混合模型，检验空中展示行为与一系列生活史特征及环境预测因子之间的关联。我们的多变量模型结果显示，雄性具备空中展示行为的物种，其栖息生境多为开阔区域而非密闭（森林）环境。此类物种同时表现出更高程度的一雄多雌制、翅膀更为修长、迁徙距离更远，且繁殖于纬度更高的区域。当我们纳入那些展示行为的性功能未被明确描述但推测存在的物种时，我们发现空中展示行为还与更小的体型相关……