AMAZING MATING RITUALS OF BIRDS

The ultimate purpose of courtship is to attract a receptive mate, but there are actually several other purposes behind the courtship behavior of different bird species. 

The intricate moves of a courtship dance and the recognizable bird sounds and songs used to attract mates can help distinguish species so birds are sure to choose compatible mates. 

Different courtship behaviors also serve to reduce territorial aggression between birds, letting them relax together to form a pair bond. 

Depending on the type of behavior, how the birds react in courtship can also display strength, health and mating desirability, allowing different birds to choose the best partners and ensure viable offspring.

TYPES OF BIRD COURTSHIP BEHAVIOUR

There are several different types of courtship rituals that bird species can use for finding a mate. 

Singing: Singing is one of the most common ways birds can attract a mate. The intricacy of the song, or the variety of different songs one bird can produce, help to advertise its maturity and intelligence – desirable characteristics for a healthy mate.

Displays: Flamboyant plumage colors and elaborate displays of prominent feathers, skin sacs or body shape can show off how strong and healthy a bird is, advertising its suitability as a mate. 

Dancing: Physical movements, from daring dives to intricate sequences including wing flaps, head dips, or different steps can be part of a courtship ritual. In many species, the male alone will dance for his female, while in other species both partners will interact with one another. Dance mistakes show inexperience or hesitancy and would likely not lead to a successful mating.

Preening: Close contact between male and female birds can be part of the courtship rituals to help diffuse their normal spatial boundaries and aggression. The birds may lightly preen one another, sit with their bodies touching or otherwise lean on one another to show that they are not intending to harm their partner.

Feeding: Offering food is another common part of the bird courtship behavior for many species. Typically a male bird may bring a morsel to the female, demonstrating that he is able not only to find food, but that he can share it and is able to provide for her while she incubates eggs or tends the brood.

Building: Some birds seek to attract a mate by showing off their architectural skills. Constructing nests before the female arrives is a way for males to claim territory and show the suitable nesting areas they can defend. They may also decorate the nest with pebbles, moss, flowers or even litter to make it more eye-catching. 

Diving: Many birds make flying and diving displays to attract the females.The cock-tailed tyrant bird makes a steep vertical ascent flying up to impress the ladies. He is thought to be quite the clown.Peregrines do aerobatic flights above the area where the female bird is to impress them.   

 SOME AMAZING MATING RITUALS

Male frigatebirds have red kidney-shaped pouches on their chests that they inflate like balloons to attract girls. During mating season, the male sits on a nest and gyrates his puffed-up chest at the females flying overhead. When a female sees a male she likes, she lands beside him. However, copulation is often interrupted when other jealous males jump on the chosen partner and try to puncture his red balloon.

Ducks have a reputation for being monogamous, but the reality is more gruesome, as the females are often gang raped by the males. This behavior is so ingrained in ducks that the female's oviduct (vagina) has sacs and dead ends that can hold and expel unwanted sperm. Scientists theorize that she can unblock her oviduct if so inclined, meaning that she usually ends up with the desired drake's ducklings.

This mating ritual of the Emperor Penguin starts miles apart. The males and females walk 30 to 70 miles to inland Antarctica and meet at a breeding site. Then they stand in a crowd and the males “bugle” for the females, who recognize their mates’ voices. They take a waddle around the group, bow deeply to one another, nuzzle, and make loving noises before mating.

Grebes, a kind of water bird, perform a bird version of ballet before mating. They start out mimicking each other’s movements and then rise out of the water and run along its surface, flapping their short wings and tripping along in perfect unison. At the end, they dive under the water and come up with grass from the bottom as if to say, "Here is what we will use to make our nest."

White-Fronted Parrots kiss by putting their beaks together and touching each other’s tongues. Then the male vomits into the female’s mouth. To the female, this is a tasty treat that gets her in the mood.

So the next time you go birding, look out for the mating birds!