Finch dance battles showcase health, not brains

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-12-03 11:01

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PHOTO: Trevor McKinnon on Unsplash

In a dance-off experiment by overseas researchers, male zebra finches that performed more complicated dances tended to be in better physical condition and to be more attractive to female birds. The researchers analysed 164 dance displays by 16 domesticated male finches and tested their intelligence, body condition and how much time female birds spent with each male - how ‘attracted’ they were. To the surprise of the researchers, the complexity and length of the dances was not linked to how intelligent the male birds were, except for a weak link to their ability to learn movement. They say this suggests that zebra finch courtship dances signal general health to their female admirers, more than brain power.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

Dance complexity is not associated with cognitive performance but positively linked with body condition and attractiveness in male zebra finches

Why do some male birds dance better than others, and does it mean they’re smarter? Our study on zebra finches explored whether male dance displays reflect intelligence, health, and attractiveness. We found that dance complexity, but not dance duration, was associated with better body condition, greater attractiveness and, to a lesser extent, improved motor learning. These findings suggest that complex dances signal health more than general intelligence, while also hinting at the role of specific cognitive abilities like motor learning.

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Journal/
conference: Biology Letters

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chize, France

Funder: This work as well as M.B-D. was supported by a research grant awarded from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada discovery grant (grant number RN000480) to F.D. M.B-D. was also supported by a scholarship from the University of Montreal (Études supérieures et postdoctorales).

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