LSAT 104 | Section 2 | Reading Comprehension: Q16

RC Question 16 Explanation

DISCUSSION: The author uses paragraph three to disprove the idea that Harris sparrows use status signaling.

If all adults are dark throated, then dark-throatedness is mainly a sign of age, not fighting ability.

Adults are better at fighting, but since all adults are dark throated, a dark throat can’t signal individual fighting ability.

All the wrong answers ignore this, and they imply or state that Harris sparrows do support the hypothesis. Lines 37-38 disprove these answers.

___________

1. CORRECT. Plumage variation signals age, rather than fighting ability. All adults will have dark throats, so a dark throat doesn’t signal that an individual bird is particularly good at fighting.
2. Lines 37-38 say that Harris sparrows don’t support the status signaling hypothesis.
3. The author never says that the status signaling hypothesis should be changed. He just says that Harris sparrows don’t support the hypothesis. (lines 37-38)
4. The Harris sparrows don’t support the hypothesis, so they may not be the best test subjects.
5. The author doesn’t mention other birds, he only talks about Harris sparrows. And the author says that Harris sparrows aren’t an example of signaling (lines 37-38).