This informative book details the important effects sexual selection has on barn swallow mating behavior, mating competition, parental care, host-parasite interactions, and migration strategies. The first two chapters present a concise, insightful review of the two main components of sexual selection theory--male-male competition and female choice. Citing evidence from the author's long-term field work on the monogamous barn swallow, subsequent chapters investigate the advantages held by males with colorful plumage and by females who are choosy when selecting a mating partner. In his...