Cheating is risky, but worth it, for female finches

SNEAKY sex with a male other than your partner makes for healthier young, at least when it comes to the exquisitely plumaged Gouldian finch, Australian researchers have found.

The female Gouldian finch regularly cheats on its mate to maximise the chance of robust offspring, even though the male is more likely to shirk fathering tasks if she is found out, Macquarie University biologists Simon Griffith and Sarah Pyke have discovered.