Fig. 1. The hypothesized effects that audience could have on courtship display and what they would signify.

(A) If the cordon-bleu multimodal display is promoted by the presence of audiences, then the display would function as an advertisement for the pair’s relationship. Multimodal displays when the audience is the opposite sex of the performer could indicate commitment toward partners [1a] or an appeal toward the audience for future extra-pair mating [1b]. When the audience is the same sex as the performer, the display could function to guard mates from potential rivals [2]. (B) If the cordon-bleu multimodal display is suppressed by audiences, then the lack of display would act to conceal the mating status and help keep future mating opportunities with potential mates [3] and avoid competition with potential rivals [4].