Kusmierski R, Borgia G, Uy A, Crozier R H
School of Genetics and Human Variation, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.
Proc Biol Sci. 1997 Mar 22;264(1380):307-13. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1997.0044.
Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchidae) have among the most exaggerated sets of display traits known, including bowers, decorated display courts and bright plumage, that differ greatly in form and degree of elaboration among species. Mapping bower and plumage traits on an independently derived phylogeny constructed from mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences revealed large differences in display traits between closely related species and convergences in both morphological and behavioural traits. Plumage characters showed no effect of phylogenetic inertia, although bowers exhibited some constraint at the more fundamental level of design, but above which they appeared free of constraint. Bowers and plumage characters, therefore, are poor indicators of phylogenetic relationship in this group. Testing Gilliard's (1969) transferral hypothesis indicated some support for the idea that the focus of display has shifted from bird to bower in avenue-building species, but not in maypole-builders or in bowerbirds as a whole.
园丁鸟（细尾鹩莺科）拥有已知的最为夸张的一系列展示特征，包括求偶亭、装饰过的展示场地和鲜艳的羽毛，这些特征在不同物种之间的形式和复杂程度差异极大。将求偶亭和羽毛特征映射到基于线粒体细胞色素b序列构建的独立推导系统发育树上，结果显示亲缘关系相近的物种之间在展示特征上存在巨大差异，且在形态和行为特征上都有趋同现象。羽毛特征未表现出系统发育惯性的影响，尽管求偶亭在更基础的设计层面表现出一些限制，但在此之上它们似乎不受限制。因此，求偶亭和羽毛特征并不能很好地指示该类群中的系统发育关系。对吉利亚德（1969年）的转移假说进行检验，结果表明有一定证据支持以下观点：在建造林荫道式求偶亭的物种中，展示的重点已从鸟类转移到求偶亭，但在建造花柱式求偶亭的物种或整个园丁鸟群体中并非如此。
