Kin recognition by calls and inbreeding avoidance in an isolated avian population on oceanic island.

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Fledgling male Daito Scops Owls settled in vacant sites near each nest as soon as possible they can after fledging, and fledgling females leisurely settled far away from than their nests. Genetic analyses uncovered that pair formation occurred between unrelated individuals, and extra-pair fertilizations occurred in the population. Heterozygosities in owlets by extra-pair fertilization were higher than by pair fertilization. Females chose genetically dissimilar males as their social mates, and in addition married females accepted copulation with genetically more dissimilar males. It was also suggested that males could recognize the differences in hoot calls. The similarity of hoots between a social father and his son, and the dissimilarity of hoots between a social father of females and the married male are verifying by pedigree analyses of hoots.