The author refers to the fact that adult Harris sparrows are usually dark throated (lines 31—32), in order to do whic...

Jay-Etter on February 1, 2022

Hi,
the author is arguing in paragraph 3 that Rohwer's data do not support his conclusions. Rohwer's conclusion was that even among birds of the same age and sex the amount of dark plumage predicts relative dominance status (L 21-23). When the author points out the plumage corresponds with age, this means it's less likely Rohwer's conclusion is correct, because the color isn't signaling individual dominance status, just general age class. The author goes on to say this in lines 35. So, the author is talking about this in order to refute Rohwer's assertions, and therefore support the conclusion that Rohwer is wrong and plumage variation does not signal individual status - exactly what A is saying.