More from the department of monogamy-may-not-be-good-for you: A new study suggests that most females who are socially monogamous end up with “below average quality males.”

A study by Macquarie University's Department of Biological Sciences (here we go again with the Aussie sex scientists) also says, further, that females paired with unattractive males have increased stress hormone levels, which may drive cheating and breakups.

This particular study has to do with the observed behavior of red-headed Gouldian finches and we confess that, as non-scientists, we would have some difficulty telling a really cute Gouldian finch from one who can’t get a date. But Australian scientists apparently are good at this. The findings, published in the latest issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B, are believed to apply to humans as well.

“In socially monogamous animals, very few individuals end up with the perfect partner because, of course, he or she is likely to be paired to someone else. That is, lots of men would like to be married to, say, Angelina Jolie, and lots of women would love to be married to Brad Pitt. But the reality is that they can't and only someone like Brad Pitt is able to marry someone like Angelina Jolie,” lead author Simon Griffith told Discovery News.

We’re not sure, though, that we can totally trust a scientist who can reduce an entire study down to fantasies about movie stars.

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