Sparrows with unfaithful ‘wives’ care less for their young

Sparrows form pair bonds that are normally monogamous, but many females are unfaithful to their partner and have offspring with other males. Biologists believe that the male birds are unfaithful to ensure they father as many chicks as they can, while females are unfaithful with males of better ‘genetic quality’ — ones that are fitter and could produce stronger offspring. But new research shows that cheating comes with a cost — the cheating female’s partner will provide less food for their nest of young.