The number of strands these males
chose from their preferred colour did not change significantly after
their poor reproductive experience. In the final group, where males
had to build with their nonpreferred colour of nest material but had
a successful breeding experience, the learning hypothesis predicts
that they will switch their preference to the initially nonpreferred
colour. This was indeed the case. So, Muth and Healy have demonstrated
clearly that male zebra finches can learn to associate the
type of nest material with their breeding experience.