Chapter 5 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 5 begins with a description of the mating behavior of Australian brush Turkeys. The male of the species spends a great deal of time amassing tons of leaves and other material to make large mounds for the female's eggs. Interestingly, though, the male does not know if he is the father of the eggs and is often not the father. Why then does the male turkey spend so much time making a safe home for eggs that are not his own? The answer lies in the fact that the price he extracts from any female who wants to use his mound is that he be able to mate with her. Female turkeys prefer well-built mounds to mounds of poor construction. Male turkeys that are skilled mound makers will attract more females and hence reproduce more. Here we have a good example...