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Courtship feeding prior to copulation

on 9th June 2018

It is common to witness courtship feeding prior to copulation in birds LINK. Humans may construe this as sexual bribery LINK, but is this so? It has been suggested that “courtship feeding behaviour is important in the establishment of pair bonds” and that such feeding influences clutch weight in certain species of birds and that it may also function as a predictor that the male bird’s “future performance in providing food for his offspring” LINK.

Dick Tan’s series of images of a male Blue-throated Bee-eater (Merops viridis) show a butterfly (above) and an insect (below) being offered, presumably by the male as courtship offerings.

On the other hand there are many cases of copulation without courtship feeding LINK.

Usually after courtship feeding, the male will mount the female (below), …

… doing a balancing act to have his cloaca make contact with that of the female in order to pass his sperms to the female below.

This is commonly known as “cloacal kiss” (above, below).

Among ducks, geese, ostriches and a few other groups, sperms are still deposited deep into the oviduct via the penis of the male LINK. However, other male birds have lost their penis during evolution LINK and need to adopt cloacal kiss in order to pass sperms to the female.

Dick Tan
Singapore
24th May 2018

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

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