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A study considers the relationship between white on tails and mating success in great snipe for several leks through 10 mating seasons. The mating decisions of individual females with regard to the amount of white on the tails of males are also examined. The results show now preference by female great snips to males with whiter tails, concluding that there is no evidence of sexual selection.

Any impact of colour bands on paternity in bluethroats, Luscinia s. svecica, appears to be very weak. Research involving paternity analyzes of birds involved in a colour band field experiment found that the previously reported effect of colour bands on males' perceived threat to paternity did not show itself in a difference in actual paternity. There was no significant preference for males with colour bands in either year or in the combined data set.

Fluctuating symmetry has been linked to mate selection in evolutionary studies of birds and insects. Experimental design of functional ornamental fluctuating asymmetry tests remains problematic due to quantification problems in various traits. Further studies should be conducted on the psychological mechanisms employed by animals for determining conspecific physical characteristics that would influence mate choice.

Symmetry preferences in the bluethroat (Luscinia s. svecica) were examined. Fluctuating asymmetry in male ornaments was mimicked by placing artificial ornaments consisting of color bands of orange and of transparent blue, on the legs of the birds. The findings showed that female bluethroats were drawn more strongly to males with symmetric ornaments. This may suggest pre-existing preferences among female bluethroats for ornaments that are absent on the cospecific males.

Female great snipe do not copy mate choices of other females while assessing the quality of individual males. A comparison of the observed and simulated female mating in groups reveals no major differences in mating behavior and copiers are restricted to less than 0.2%. Group mating by females neither increases with rise in female mating nor towards the end of the breeding season. Group matings in relation to mating skew are inconsistent. The correlations for copulations as matings agree with the null hypothesis but are insignificant.

Mate sampling and copulation in great snipe females, Gallinago media, show that mate choice involves long time periods. Females frequently return to previously visited males for copulation, which can be explained by a best-of-N-males comparison. Copulation by females is greater with successful males and is also marked in the presence of other females in the male territory. Copulation occurs more than once for ensuring fertility or due to competition between females for preferred males.

Studies the mate preferences of female snipers. Mate preferences as a cause of sexual selection and evolution of male traits; Influence of male manipulating traits on mating success; Frequency of females' mating activities.