As in the entire animal kingdom, finding a partner can become an arduous task, especially when there is great competition. In birds, there is a wide variety of nuptial displays during courtship, especially in species that have melodious songs or show very striking plumage, such as the case of the birds of paradise that present the most elaborate courtship rituals among birds. This happens especially in males, in which in addition to their coloration, they present ornaments to call the attention of the female and thus be able to mate.
In this article, we will tell you about the different methods that males use to attract the attention of females, from displaying ornate feathers, building extremely elaborate nests, performing dances to leave the discovered its brightest feathers, to clean and decorate areas of the ground to attract the female. If you are interested in these wonders of the animal world, in this article on our site we will tell you about the main characteristics of the reproduction of birds, as well as the different methods and tools they use to court females.
How do birds mate?
Courtship precedes mating, which in many species occurs in spring, a favorable time for reproduction to occur and for the breeding of the chicks. Birds have separate sexes and internal fertilization In some species, such as ducks and ostriches, the male has a copulatory organ, but in others, the male deposits his sperm inside the female's cloaca by simple apposition.
Then, in the female's uterus, fertilization occurs and the egg begins to form, which in the case of birds is an amniotic egg, with a dry calcareous covering (the shell) that will later be deposited in the nest and incubated by one or both parents (biparental care), depending on the species. In monogamous species, where pairs remain for at least one breeding season, the biparental care is favoured.
Out of curiosity, you may also like this other article on our site about How do penguins reproduce?
Courtship in birds
When it comes to mating birds, there are many ways in which males attract the attention of females. Some of the main courtship methods in birds are:
- The plumage.
- The tail.
- He alth.
- Building nests.
- Dancing.
- Clean and decorate.
Next, we will look at each of these points.
The plumage in the courtship of birds
Without a doubt, one of the greatest attractions of birds is their variability and richness of colours. Feathers represent a great evolutionary advance and, like the scales of reptiles, provide perfect thermal insulation, which is of great importance when it comes to processes that require a very high metabolism, such as flight.
The plumage also protects birds from solar radiation and water. In other species, it can serve other functions such as regulating buoyancy, producing sound, transporting water, increasing hearing, etc. The plumage is also the main responsible for the figure, color and shape of the birds, acquiring an important function in communication between conspecifics (individuals of the same species), as it serves to signal the quality of an individual and thus attract potential mates through courtship.
You may also be interested in this other article on The best birds to have at home.
The tail in the pairing of birds
In some bird species, the long tail feathers or down on the head add more attractiveness and richness to their plumageThis array of forms favors courtship over females, but having so many colors comes at a cost: the long, colored feathers can attract predators and In some cases, they can make escape difficult. To this we must add undoubted energy costs for its production and maintenance.
The long tail of the peacock (Pavo cristatus) is a good example of this: a structure as long or longer than the body itself and with a considerable weight clearly hinders flight, especially in the case of a quick escape. However, the length of the peacock's tail and the number of eye-shaped patterns (ocelli) it has are related to the age of the peacock. The queue is therefore a indicator of the ageof the individual and his experience. In many cases, females prefer to mate with males with greater number of ocelli on the tail. That is why, despite the fact that ornaments are unfavorable for cases where the male must flee from a predator (natural selection), there is another force related to the increase in success in finding a mate, and it is what is calledsexual selection
He alth in mating birds
On the other hand, males with highly colored feathers, such as the great tit (Parus major) or finches such as the common goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) are the luckiest when the female choose them. This is because the color of their feathers is obtained through their food
The more food with carotenoids (pigments present in vegetation or in animals such as caterpillars) they get, the greater the coloration of their plumage, so the female will interpret it as an honest sign that a male possesses good he alth and ability to feed his children
Nest building in courtship birds
Many species of birds have different techniques when building their nests. A very striking example is that of the masked weaver (Ploceus velatus), which builds multiple spectacular nests throughout the year, but why do they do it? The answer is simple, to find more mates and, on the other hand, it's because the more nests you build, the more offspring you'll have.
The males create a nest, attract a female, mate, and the female guards the eggs while the male builds another nest to attract another female, and so on. And the experience of the male is reflected in that he improves his building technique over the years, and his nests will be more elaborate and beautiful
In addition to these methods of courtship in birds, you may also be interested in this other article on our site on Birds in danger of extinction in Spain.
The best dancers in bird pairing
The cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus) has a courtship ritual (which becomes competition) and consists of a display before the females, where several males gather in the same place between the branches and they dance, jump, move their wings and emit some very particular sounds (this type of courtship in birds is called Lek), all this to impress the females, who are spectators and decide on one of the males after all the display, although many times they may not be interested and leave without having chosen a mate. In these cases, nesting is carried out only by the female, who prepares the nest without the help of the male, and then incubates the eggs and takes care of the chicks.
Another fascinating example is that of the superb bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba), where the male performs an elaborate courtship ritual, during which he spreads his black cape (wings) until only one is visible. blue stripe on the chest and blue eyes in the middle of a completely dark coat. He then performs a very complex dance, moving around the female with semicircular movementsuntil the female decides to either mate or move away from him.
Cleaning and decoration rituals in the courtship of birds
There are cases, such as that of the brown bowerbird (Amblyornis inornata), in which the male spends much of his time clearing an area of the ground and then place ornaments (such as shells, cans, stones and other objects of the same color) and build a pergola to woo the female.
In this case, only the male who builds the most spectacular pergola will be able to mate. During the courtship ritual, the male struts among the objects and makes clicks and screeches, while the female watches from the center of the pergola.
