The maintenance of multiple ornaments by animals can be explained when those multiple ornaments are sexually selected. However, there have been only a few studies of sexual selection on multiple ornaments. We investigated sexual selection on two ornaments, plumage coloration and white spots in the tail, in a population of Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica gutturalis in Japan. There was sexual dimorphism in throat coloration and in the size of the white spots in the tail. Males with a less saturated (colourful) throat and larger white spots in the tail bred earlier than others, indicating a mating advantage for these males. These trends are what would be expected if these ornaments were indeed sexually selected.

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