Birds Go Steady Before Having Kids

Photo: flickr/USFWSmidwest Perhaps you've heard that many bird species are monogamous, including swans and whooping cranes. But have you ever wondered how these long term lovers get together? Do they "date", or is it love (and breeding) at first sight? These scientists set out to answer these questions by studying the life history of the whooping crane. They found that "a substantial portion (62%) of breeding pairs started associating at least 12 months before first breeding, with 16 of 58 breeding pairs beginning to associate over 2 years before first breeding. For most pairs, these associations with future breeding partners also became unique and distinguishable from association patterns with non-partner individuals 12 months before first breeding." Not only that, but most of the breeding pairs were childhood sweethearts, getting together "before at least one partner had reached nominal sexual maturity." Birds choose long-term partners years before breeding "Pair bonds can ...