Dance complexity is not associated with cognitive performance but positively linked with body condition and attractiveness in male zebra finches

Female preference for males with enhanced cognitive abilities has been reported in many species, but it remains unclear which sexual signals reflect such skills. We hypothesized that male dance performance is correlated with cognitive performance, body condition and increased attractiveness in zebra finches (Taeniopygia castanotis). We collected dance behaviours from 164 male displays and assessed male condition, attractiveness and performance in four cognitive tasks: associative learning, motor learning, spatial learning and inhibitory control. Variance in male displays was mainly explained by two independent features: dance duration and dance complexity. Dance duration was not correlated with male cognitive performance, body condition or attractiveness, while dance complexity was significantly linked with body condition and attractiveness and marginally linked with motor learning performance. While our findings suggest that male dance attributes are unlikely to serve as indicators of general cognition in zebra finches, dance complexity might reflect general health and may be used by females as a mate-choice criterion. Despite the need for replication, our findings do not support the idea that intersexual selection based on male dance displays shapes the evolution of general cognition.