Male swallows must constantly impress mates

is never over," says Rebecca Safran, a Cornell University researcher who led a new study.<br><br> "It is dynamic and continual. This is something that most humans can LIVESCIENCE " Schemes to Control the Weather Clouded by Failure " New Hurricane Forecast Calls for Busy October " Study: Sun's Changes to Blame for Part of Global Warming " Land of Homer's 'Odyssey' Said Found " Amazing Images: Summer under the Stars Contest RELATED STORIES | What's this? " Why parrot moms get to wear bright colors " Female bats share mates with their moms " Mating game is never over for male swallows - study " The science of shark attacks " Nature loves a hybrid MOST POPULAR Most Viewed " Top Rated " Most E-mailed " Dole pre-packaged salads recalled for E.<br><br> coli " Bush picks woman for Supreme Court " Captain blames wakes for tour boat tragedy " Miers ties to Bush include personal lawyer " Some conservatives not thrilled by Miers " Most viewed on MSNBC.com advertisement Shopping on MSN Gadget gallery " MP3 players " Notebooks " PDAs " Pet costumes " Kitty care " Doggie love " Fish supplies RESOURCE GUIDE " Personals with PerfectMatch.com " Buy Life Insurance " expedia.com " Shopping Sponsors: dynamic and continual. This is something that most humans can relate to 4 think of how much time and money we spend on our looks and status long after we have established stable relationships." The consequences in the avian world for this indiscreet behavior might sound familiar, too. Half of all male barn swallows care for at least one little one that was fathered by a competitor.<br><br> Some males raise an entire nest of illegitimate young. But there's hope for those willing to get a makeover. After birds laid eggs, Safran took the eggs so they'd mate again.<br><br> Meanwhile, she used a red marker to darken some of the light- breasted males, turning them apparently into total hotties. Those who'd gotten makeovers fathered a "substantially larger percentage of offspring" the second time around, according to DNA analysis. The unaltered males fared the same as before or worse.<br><br> "The study shows that the females are paying close attention to these signals and that they respond quickly to changes in their mate's appearance," Safran says. The motivation may be a more-than-skin-deep lust, however. Another recent study found that the trait that makes a male attractive 4 in this case the redder breast, with other animals bigger horns or giant tusks 4 serves to indicate overall suitability for reproduction.<br><br> The dark red breast of the barn swallow hints at a male's health, status or ability to raise young, Safran speculates. "Factors like ultraviolet radiation from the sun, soiling and even feather degrading bacteria are known to affect the color of bird feathers once they are grown, and perhaps the best males are those who spend more time preening and protecting their plumage," said Kevin McGraw, an assistant professor at Arizona State University who worked on the study while a graduate student at Cornell. The research is detailed in the Sept.<br><br> 30 issue of the journal Science. © 2005 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.<br><br> Rate this story Low High Current rating: 4.5 by 8 users " View Top Rated stories Print this Email this MORE FROM SCIENCE " Has 8Odyssey 9 hero 9s land been found? " Theologian: Intelligent design is religion " Two Australians win Nobel Prize in medicine " Cosmic Log: Debating intelligent design " WP: Panda not quite ready to crawl " Sun's changes affect global warming " Ancient statues of Roman goddesses found " Australia returns 10,000 fossils to China " Medieval African texts take spotlight " Wisconsin to house national stem cell bank " Science Section Front Science Section Front

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