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Biology

Mating Strategies and Sperm Competition in Promiscuous Bird Species

Quick fact

In species like the superb fairy-wren, females mate with up to eight males, yet the last male to mate often fathers most of the chicks—a pattern called last-male sperm precedence.

Why this is interesting

When a female bird mates with several males in a single breeding season, the real contest isn't in the trees—it's a microscopic battle royal inside her body. Who wins?