Plumevariation, Breeding Performanceand Extra-pair Copulations in the Cattle Egret

We investigatehow variation in breeding plumes in uences pairing patterns, extra-pair copulations and breeding performance in the colonial cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis ibis). The breeding plumes of both male and female cattle egrets varied from almost none, to lush head, back and scapular plumes. Overall, male breeding plumes were longer and darker than those of females, but we observed the full range of plume development in both sexes. Plume development was positively correlatedwithin breeding pairs. Females may be more selective in mate choice since they only paired with males with similar or better plumes and only accepted extra-pair copulations when the male had plumes that were greater than or equal to those of their mates. Males, in contrast frequently paired with females of lower plume development, and did not target well plumed females for extra pair copulations. Females may obtain direct beneŽ ts from pairing with well plumed males since these males copulated and fed chicks at a higher rate, although this did not lead to higher  edging success in our study. Well plumed females did not have higher nest attendance, nestling attendance, feeding rates or  edging