'Culture' in quail: social influences on mate choices of female Coturnix japonica.

We have shown previously that after a focal female Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica, sees a conspecific male mating, the focal female's tendency to affiliate and to mate with that male is significantly increased. Here we describe two experiments demonstrating that a focal female quail that has seen a conspecific male mating subsequently shows an enhanced tendency to affiliate not only with that particular male, but also with other males that share his characteristics. The results have important implications for our understanding of the role of social learning in the evolution of male characteristics. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.