Martin Muller wrote:

>A couple of questions remain though. Did Butler address the possible reason
>why males would be prone to forced copulations? If raised wings reduce forced
>copulations then why flutter the wings? Also, does the raised tail reduce
>forced copulation as well?

I assume you're asking why should males attempt to copulate with other
males. I think most birds that are monomorphic really can't distinguish
sexes except by behavior (or vocalizations in some cases), and, when both
sexes are there gathering mud, they're behaving exactly the same way. I
haven't checked the original reference since I read it years ago, and I'm
sure I've forgotten details.

I imagine fluttering the wings just makes their being raised more apparent,
and the experimenter didn't have any good techniques for wing fluttering in
his mounted birds so couldn't distinguish effects of fluttering vs.
nonfluttering. Don't know about the tail; as females of course raise their
tails during copulations, this might even be an attractant, but--who
knows?--it might even be the keep the tail out of the mud! I don't think
Barn Swallows raise their tails while mudding, however.

I assume some of us might not have thought about the consequences of making
a mud nest. You can only breed somewhere there are mud puddles, and this
surely must affect where Barn and Cliff swallows nest. I've wondered if
the decrease of Barn Swallows in the city could be a consequence of the
reduction of mud puddles. We need a Swallow Research Section to furnish
mud puddles all over our cities!

And, by the way, if you want to check about the life and times of Cliff
Swallows, check the recent Birds of North America account, perhaps
available at Flora & Fauna Books.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 206-756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 206-756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416