Female Gouldian finches that fail to land their ideal mate seem to have higher levels of stress than their luckier counterparts.
The monogamous Australian finches (Erythrura gouldiae, pictured) have either black or red heads, and females prefer to mate with partners whose head colour matches their own — an indication of genetic compatibility. Simon Griffith of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and his colleagues monitored the birds as they either chose their mates or were placed in a mating pair.
In both conditions, females that ended up with compatible males laid their first egg earlier and had lower levels of the stress hormone corticosterone in their blood than those partnered with a mismatched mate.
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Mate mismatch causes stress. Nature 470, 142 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/470142c
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/470142c
