The adaptive significance of female extra-pair copulation behavior was investigated in Yellow-billed Magpies, Pica nuttalli, a socially monogamous species. Research was carried out in central coastal California, U.S.A. Observations of female behavior towards extra-pair males during the breeding season suggest that females display a preference for certain extra-pair males. In addition, observations confirm that females can successfully resist male copulation attempts. However, based on a small sample, no significant difference in fledging success was found for nests at which extra-pair visits occurred and those at which they did not. Multilocus DNA fingerprinting analysis is in progress to determine the rate of extra-pair fertilizations. These data will be analyzed for correlations between female behavior towards extra-pair males and those males successfully gaining extra-pair fertilizations, and for differences in fledging success between nests with extra-pair fertilizations and those without extra-pair fertilizations.
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