Bird couples may break up due to prolonged separation or infidelity – study
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About 90% of all bird species have one partner for life or one breeding season. However, some birds can separate from their partners. The main reason for this is long-term separation or sexual indiscretion of males. Scientists from China and Germany studied the cases of divorce, mortality and migratory flights of 232 species of birds, reports The Guardian. They analyzed the evolutionary relationships between species to account for the effects of common ancestry, and based on this data, gave males and females of each species a “promiscuity score” — disordered sexual contact. Photo: steve_byland/Depositphotos Some bird species have received high marks. “Swallows, swallows, martins, orioles, and blackbirds have a high rate of male divorce and promiscuity. At the same time, petrels, albatrosses, geese, and swans usually remain faithful to one partner and divorce quite rarely,” the scientists say. The researchers found that greater sexual promiscuity in males was associated with more divorces, but promiscuity in females was not. “When a male has a promiscuous sex life, this is often perceived as a decrease in his commitment, because his attention and resources are divided between several females. This can make him less attractive as a partner, and therefore increase the probability of his divorce in the next breeding season,” explains study co-author Zitan Song. Photo: steve_byland/Depositphotos Scientists have also found that the separation of bird pairs can be influenced by migration, during which partners can arrive at their destination at different times and start forming new relationships for breeding. Bird species that migrate over longer distances have a higher number of divorces, researchers say. Samantha Patrick, an expert in marine biology from the University of Liverpool, who was not involved in the study, noted that the number of divorces of bird couples can also be influenced by climate. “The climate is becoming more unpredictable and the timing of migration may become more variable, and I would suggest that for different species this may increase the divorce rate,” she said. Earlier we reported that bee-eating birds and a male of a rare bird with rings on its legs were spotted in the Tuzlov Estuary National Park in Odesa. Read also: 12 animals that became famous during the war: stories of brave four-legged friends
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