Mating and pair choice are not tightly coupled in most birds. In so-called polygynous and polyandrous species there is no apparent male-female bonding. There is instead relatively indiscriminate mating on the part of one sex coupled with often intense discriminating on the other. At the other extreme are apparently permanently bonded couples who mate only in a vary narrow time window (at or slightly before the time of egg laying), during which they may also mate with neighbors, depending on opportunity. In many birds who have successive broods through a season, such as song sparrows, for example, a female may be monogamous in the first brood but mate with several males (probably carefully chosen, that is not "promiscuous") in the second, even as she remains with the same original mate to rear their clutch.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Mating and pair choice are not tightly coupled in most birds. In so-called polygynous and polyandrous species there is no apparent male-female bonding. There is instead relatively indiscriminate mating on the part of one sex coupled with often intense discriminating on the other. At the other extreme are apparently permanently bonded couples who mate only in a vary narrow time window (at or slightly before the time of egg laying), during which they may also mate with neighbors, depending on opportunity. In many birds who have successive broods through a season, such as song sparrows, for example, a female may be monogamous in the first brood but mate with several males (probably carefully chosen, that is not "promiscuous") in the second, even as she remains with the same original mate to rear their clutch." in the context of "pp. 41–42" to mean that wisdom is timeless.