Male quality and conspecific scent preferences in the house finch, Carpodacus mexicanus

► We examined whether Carpodacus mexicanus uses olfaction in a social context. ► House finch males were offered the choice between the scent of a male and a female. ► The preferences of males for the male or female scent were related to their quality. ► Low quality males avoided the male-scented area and good males moved towards it. ► Our results suggest that birds may assess the quality of rival males via olfaction.