- •Introduction
- •Verreaux’s sifaka
- •Identification: Males reach 8–10 feet in length and have a massive neck, shoulders, and mane; females are smaller.
- •Identification: a large deer (standing 4-5 feet at the shoulder) with brownish red fur and a pale rump patch; males generally have enormous antlers and a long mane.
- •Identification: a 3-4-foot-tall deer with a brownish coat and large antlers (3 feet long) in males.
- •Identification: a medium-sized deer typically with a grayish brown coat and white underparts, and antlers in both sexes. Moose
- •Identification : The largest species of deer (weighing up to 1,300 pounds); has slender legs, a pendulous nose, and (in males) prominent palmate antlers and a dewlap or “bell” beneath the throat.
- •Identification: The tallest mammal (up to 19 feet), with a sloping back, enormously long neck, bony, knobbed “horns” in both sexes, and the familiar reddish brown spotted patterning.
- •Identification: a deer-sized mammal with distinctive, sharply forked horns in males and reddish brown fur with white patches.
- •Identification: a medium-sized gazelle; males have distinctive spiral horns and a black-and-white coat; females and juvenile males are tan colored.
- •Identification: a large wild sheep (weighing up to 300 pounds) with massive spiral horns in males; coat is brown with a white muzzle, underparts, and rump patch.
- •Identification: Similar to Bighorn, except smaller and with thinner horns; coat is all white or brownish black to gray,
- •Identification: a large (6—8—foot—long) mammal with long, shaggy fur, humped shoulders, and massive, down-sweeping horns.
- •Identification: a stocky, 3-foot-tall, goatlike mammal with shaggy white fur and sharp horns in both sexes.
- •Identification: An enormous buffalo (up to 61/2 feet high) with massive forequarters, humped shoulders, and (in males) a beard.
- •Identification: Similar to American Bison but more slender, less hunched, and with longer legs.
- •Identification: a huge (II-foot-long), usually black buffalo with massive, upward-curving horns in both sexes.
- •Identification: The familiar wild horse with a black-and-white-striped pattern; Mountain Zebras usually have a distinctive dewlap.
- •Identification: a 3—5-foot-long wild pig with a large head, prominent tusks, and distinctive warts in front of the eyes and on the jaw..
- •Identification: a piglike mammal with grayish, speckled, or salt-and-pepper fur and a light-colored collar.
- •Identification: The familiar large (up to 71/2 tons), trunked mammal with enormous ears and tusks in both sexes.
- •Identification: a large wild cat (up to 550 pounds) with a prominent mane in males.
- •Identification: a small canid (body length up to 3 feet) with a bushy tail and a reddish brown coat (although some variants are silvery or black).
- •Identification: The largest wild canid (reaching up to 7 feet in length) with a gray, brown, black, or white coat.
- •Identification: a small (3 foot long), reddish brown, bearlike canid with short legs and tail. Social Organization
- •Identification: a huge bear (7–10 feet tall) with dark brown, golden, cream, or black fur..
- •Identification: a smaller bear (4–6 feet) with coat color ranging from black to gray, brown, and even white. Park, Saskatchewan, Canada; subspecies u.A. Altifrontalis.
- •Identification: a yellowish brown hyena with spotted flanks and back, a strongly sloping body profile, and rounded ears; females typically heavier than males.
- •Identification: a large (over 3 foot tall) kangaroo with a gray coat and a hair-covered muzzle.
- •Identification: a smaller kangaroo (21/2 feet tall) with a reddish brown wash on its neck.
- •Identification: a light gray kangaroo standing up to 3 feet tall, with a white facial stripe and a long, slender tail.
- •Identification: a small (6–7 pound), rodentlike kangaroo with reddish brown fur.
- •Identification: Stocky, tree-dwelling kangaroos; chestnut or chocolate brown fur with lighter patches.
- •Identification: a small, mouselike marsupial with a thick, conical, fat-storing tail.
- •Identification: a catlike marsupial, up to 2 feet long, with grayish brown fur and white splotches.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (10—15 inch), primarily tree-dwelling squirrel with a reddish brown or tawny coat and white underparts, often with a dark stripe on the side.
- •Identification: a large (20 inch), tree-dwelling squirrel with a long, bushy tail and gray, grizzled, or buff fur.
- •Identification: Small, guinea-pig-like rodents with coarse fur; Dwarf Cavies have a distinctive white eye-ring, Cuis have yellow-colored incisors.
- •Identification: a small (less than I foot long) insectivore with sandy-colored spines, white underparts, and prominent ears.
- •Identification: a dark gray goose with fine silvery-white feather patterning; the wild ancestor of domestic geese.
- •Identification: a brown-plumaged goose with a distinctive black neck and white cheek patch; varies widely in size, from 2–24 pounds.
- •Identification: a pinkish-red-billed goose with two major color phases: all-white and “blue” (grayish plumage with a white head and neck).
- •Identification: The only swan with fully black plumage; wing feathers are white, bill is bright red, and the neck is especially long.
- •Identification: a large swan (up to 33 pounds) with a black knob at the base of its reddish orange bill (less prominent in females).
- •Identification: a familiar duck with a blue wing patch, an iridescent green head and white collar in males, and brown, mottled plumage in females.
- •Identification: a grayish brown duck with a light blue upper-wing patch, tawny spotted underparts, and white, crescent-shaped facial stripes in males.
- •Identification: a broad-billed duck with a purplish black head and breast and white underparts in males, and a dark head and brownish plumage in females.
- •Identification: Cinnamon breast, dark green head and back, and white collar; adult females have white eye and bill rings.
- •Identification: a large, grayish duck with a prominent lobe hanging from the lower bill, and a spike-fan tail..
- •Identification: a gull-sized, web-footed bird with contrasting black upperparts and white underparts; some individuals have a white eye ring.
- •Identification: a large, white-plumaged, gull-like bird with an enorous wingspan (over 61/2 feet), a dark back, and a grayish black wash on the face.
- •Identification: a large (3 foot), black, web-footed bird with a white throat and white filamentary plumes on the nape.
- •Identification: Similar to Great Cormorant, but smaller and uniformly black, with a prominent forehead crest.
- •Identification: a ducklike bird with grayish white plumage, bright red eyes, and yellow facial tufts.
- •Identification: Similar to Silvery Grebe, but with a buff or chestnut wash on the breast, white streaks on the head, and black-and-white eyes.
- •Identification: a stocky, medium-sized (2 foot long) heron with a black crown and back, white underparts, gray wings, and white ribbon plumes at the nape of the neck.
- •Identification: Long-legged, typically white herons with ornamental, filamentous plumes on the back, breast, and nape; these are golden-buff-colored in the Cattle Egret.
- •Identification: Similar to Little Egret but with slaty-gray plumage and a reddish brown head and neck.
- •Identification: a large (3 foot long) heron with a gray back, white head and neck, and black “eyebrow” stripe and nape plumes.
- •Identification: a large (nearly 20 inch) wading bird with bluish purple plumage, a red shield on its forehead, and red feet with long toes.
- •Identification: Similar to Pukeko, but flightless, and with grayish brown plumage, no red frontal shield, and shorter legs.
- •Identification: Similar to Pukeko, but with black plumage and shorter legs.
- •Identification: The largest flamingo species (4—5 feet tall) with plumage ranging from pale whitish pink to bright orange-pink.
- •Identification: a large (12 inch) sandpiper with gray or brownish plumage and, in some males, spectacular ruffs and feather tufts on the head that vary widely in color and pattern (see below).
- •Identification: a medium-sized (7—8 inch) wading bird with a small head and short beak, buff-colored face and underparts, and regular dark brown patterning on the back and crown.
- •Identification: a large (13—14 inch) sandpiper with streaked and spotted, dark brownish gray plumage; long and slightly upturned bill; greenish yellow legs.
- •Identification: Slightly smaller than the Greenshank; plumage grayish brown, with black and dark brown streaks and spots; orange-red legs.
- •Identification: a fairly large (12—15 inch) sandpiper-like bird with long pink legs, white plumage with black wings and back, and a slender black bill.
- •Identification: Similar to Black-winged Stilt but with entirely black plumage.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (10 inch) sandpiper-like bird with mottled buff and black plumage; adult males have a black face and underparts bordered with white.
- •Identification: a large gull (up to 27 inches) with a dark gray back and wings; spotted black-and-white wing tips; pink legs; and a yellow bill with a red spot.
- •Identification: a smaller gull (to 17 inches) with a blue-gray mantle; more pointed black wing tips; relatively short black legs and dark eyes; and a yellowish green bill.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (16 inch) gull with gray back and wings; spotted black-and-white wing tips; bright red bill and legs; white iris.
- •Identification: Similar to Silver Gull except larger (2 feet long), legs pinkish, bill yellow with a red spot, and iris yellow.
- •Identification: a medium-sized gull (to 17 inches) with a distinctive black or chocolate brown “hood,” red legs, and a gray back and wings.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (to 18 inches) black-headed gull with white eye-crescents, a dark gray back, and red legs and bill..
- •Ivory gull
- •Identification: An all-white gull with black legs and a blue-gray bill.
- •Identification: a large (to 22 inches) gull-like bird with a black cap and crest, light gray back and wings, forked tail, and long red bill with a black tip.
- •Identification: Similar to Caspian Tern but smaller (to 17 inches) and with a more deeply forked tail and slighter bill.
- •IdentifIfAtion: a crow-sized bird with cinnamon-brown plumage and a bare, blue-gray face..
- •Identification: Adult males are black with a red crown and a light blue patch on the back; yearling males and females are all green, while younger adult males are green with a reddish crown..
- •Identification: Small (5–7 inch) birds with brown and rufous plumage and a bluish gray patch around the eyes; Ocellateds have a distinctive scalloped pattern on the back feathers.
- •Identification: a small (5 inch), plain olive-green bird with a long tail and an ocher- or tawny-colored lower breast.
- •Identification: a small to medium-sized swallow with iridescent blue-green upperparts, white underparts, and a tail that is only slightly forked.
- •Identification: a bluish brown swallow with pale underparts, buff forehead, and a chestnut throat; tail is not forked..
- •Identification: a small, sparrow-sized swallow with a slightly forked tail, brown plumage, white underparts, and a brown breast band.
- •Identification: a small songbird with bright yellow underparts, olive green upperparts, and a black crown (“hood”) and throat in adult males and some females (see below).
- •Identification: a sparrow-sized bird with olive-brown plumage, distinctive white shoulder bars, and (in males) blue-gray crown.
- •Identification: a sparrow-sized bird with olive to orange-red plumage and a distinctive crossed bill..
- •Identification: a small (61/2 inch) bird with a thick, hooked bill, grayish brown plumage, and a darker facial mask (black in males)..
- •Identification: a tiny (41/2 inch) chickadee-like bird with a bright blue crown, black-and-white face, bluish green plumage, and yellow underparts.
- •Identification: a sparrow-sized bird with bright blue plumage, white underparts, and a chestnut throat and breast.
- •Identification: a grayish buff, sparrow-sized bird with a pale gray-white crown..
- •Identification: a drab, sparrowlike bird with brownish gray plumage and a black throat patch..
- •Identification: The familiar black-bibbed sparrow; Cowbird is iridescent black with a dark brown head..
- •Identification: Light gray plumage, black wings and tail, and (in some birds) bare yellow head and fleshy black wattles.
- •Identification: a small crow with black plumage and gray on the back of the head.
- •Identification: a large (2 foot), all-black bird similar to a crow but much bulkier..
- •Victoria’s riflebird
- •Identification: Adult males are black with an iridescent sheen and metallic crown, throat, and central tail feathers; females and younger males are drabber, with brown, buff, and off-white plumage.
- •Identification: a thrush-sized bird (12 inches) with velvety black plumage and brilliant golden yellow crown, nape, upper back, and wing feathers.
- •Identification: a pheasant-sized bird with brownish gray plumage, powerful legs and claws, and long, ornate tail feathers.
- •Identification: The largest living bird (over 6 feet tall), with striking black-and-white plumage in the male and powerful legs and claws.
- •Identification: The second-largest living bird (5—6 feet tall), with shaggy, brown plumage and bare patches of blue skin on the face and neck.
- •Identification: Similar to Ostrich but smaller (up to 41/2 feet tall) and with overall grayish brown plumage in both sexes.
- •Identification: a small penguin (approximately 2 feet tall) with a black band on its chest and patches of red skin at the base of its bill..
- •Identification: a large (3 foot tall) penguin with orange ear patches and a yellow-orange wash on the breast.
- •Identification: a medium-sized penguin (up to 21/2 feet) with a white patch above the eye.
- •Identification: a large vulture (wingspan up to 9 feet) with a white head and neck and brown plumage.
- •Insects
- •Introduction
Identification: a small (less than I foot long) insectivore with sandy-colored spines, white underparts, and prominent ears.
Social Organization
Long-eared Hedgehogs live in burrows and are largely nocturnal and solitary, although small groups of animals may gather at feeding or resting sites. Males take no part in parental care.
Description
Behavioral Expression: Homosexual interactions in female Long-eared Hedgehogs involve a great deal of courtship and affectionate behaviors as well as direct sexual encounters, frequently consisting of oral sex. A typical lesbian interaction begins, often at dusk, with two females rubbing each other, sliding along each other’s body, and cuddling. One female might also crawl directly under the other, sliding back from her throat to her belly. Another courtship display involves one female stretching out full length and pressing her belly against the ground with a concave “arch” in her back. During sexual contact, females intensively lick, sniff, and nibble on each other’s genitals. Sometimes, to have better access, one female will raise the hindquarters of the other high into the air with her paws and lower jaw, lifting her partner’s hind legs clear off the ground while she continues licking. At other times, one or both females will present their raised hindquarters as an invitation for the other to mount as in heterosexual copulation. Often the presenting female is in such a state of arousal that her hindquarters are actually lifted too high for the other female to fully mount her, although she may try. In captivity, homosexual encounters have been observed between adult sisters, that is, members of the same litter.
Frequency: Homosexual interactions occur frequently between females paired together in captivity, but the incidence of this activity in wild Long-eared Hedgehogs is not known.
Courtship and sexual activity between female Long-eared Hedgehogs: sliding (above), arching posture (middle), and cunnilingus
Orientation: Female Long-eared Hedgehogs may have a latent capacity for bisexual or homosexual behavior, since same-sex activity surfaces when females are kept together without males. However, it appears that this may initiate a preference for homosexuality that can be long-lasting: one pair of females who courted and had sex with each other refused to participate in heterosexual activity for more than two years after they were separated, although eventually both did mate with males and reproduce.
Nonreproductive and Alternative Heterosexualities
Oral-genital stimulation is a frequent component of heterosexual encounters in Long-eared Hedgehogs, with males licking and sniffing the female’s genitals. Cannibalism also occurs in this species: animals may eat already dead hedgehogs or else kill them directly and then devour them.
Other Species
Homosexual activity occurs in several species of Tree Shrews, a group of animals found in Southeast Asia and thought to have affiliations with insectivores (and possibly also primates). In Common Tree Shrews (Tupaia glis ), for example, about a third of all sexual activity occurs between females, including sexual approaches and following, genital licking and sniffing, and mounting. Same-sex mounting has also been observed in Slender Tree Shrews (T. gracilis ), Mountain Tree Shrews (T. montana ), and Long-footed Tree Shrews (T. longipes ). In the latter species, mounting between females accounts for about 9 percent of all mounting activity. Female Long-footed Tree Shrews sometimes form consortships with one another as well; these typically last longer than heterosexual consortships (several months as opposed to several hours) and involve mutual grooming, lying on or next to each other, and sleeping together. Male and female homosexuality also occur in North American Porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum), including periods of exclusive homosexual activity among males.
GRAY-HEADED FLYING FOX
IDENTIFICATION: A large bat with an enormous wingspan (up to 4 feet), a doglike face, dark brown fur, a light gray head, and a reddish yellow mantle.
LIVINGSTONE’S FRUIT BAT
IDENTIFICATION: Similar to Gray-headed, except coat is black with tawny shoulders and groin; wingspan over 3 feet.
VAMPIRE BAT
IDENTIFICATION: A small bat with grayish brown fur and pointed ears.
Social Organization
Gray-headed Flying Foxes live in groups known as CAMPS, which may contain many thousands of individuals. These camps are segregated by sex for most of the year: males and females roost in separate trees—or in separate locations within the same tree—except during the breeding season (generally March-April). Some individuals become nomadic, solitary, or much less gregarious following the breeding season. Livingstone’s Fruit Bats appear to have a polygamous mating system, in which males mate with multiple female partners but do not participate in raising their offspring. Vampire Bat colonies may contain up to 2,000 individuals, although most have 20–100. The female group is the primary social unit, consisting of 8–12 females (many of whom are related to each other) and their young. Males sometimes form “bachelor” groups of up to 8 individuals, or they may roost in the same tree with female groups.
Description
Behavioral Expression: Gray-headed Flying Foxes of both sexes engage in a form of mutual homosexual grooming and caressing when they are in their separate camps. One animal wraps its wings around another of the same sex in an embrace, licking and gently biting the chest and wings of its partner, rubbing its head on the other’s chest, and grooming it with its claws. Males may have an erection while they do this, and individuals generally utter a continuous pulsed, grating call while engaged in this activity. Livingstone’s Fruit Bats participate in similar forms of grooming and other homosexual activities. Combined with bouts of intense body licking—either mutual or one-sided—both males and females in this species sometimes lick, nuzzle, and sniff the genitals of a same-sex partner (one male was even seen to drink another’s urine as part of this activity). Clasping, play-wrestling, and gentle mouthing or biting of the partner occur as well. This may lead to homosexual mounting, in which one Bat grips the other from behind, holding the scruff of its neck in its mouth (as in heterosexual mating, although males do not usually experience erections or penetration during same-sex activity). Females sometimes mount their adult daughters and vice versa. In one instance, a daughter repeatedly approached, pursued, and mounted her mother for extended periods, and even successfully fought off males who were interested in mating with her mother.
Male Vampire Bats also participate in sexual grooming and licking of one another. Two males hang belly to belly, each with an erect penis. One male then works his tongue over the entire body of the other male, paying particular attention to licking the other male’s genitals. Sometimes one male will masturbate himself while licking his partner, using his free foot to rub his own penis. Although overt sexual behavior has not been observed among female Vampire Bats, females do form long-lasting bonds with one another. Companions share the same roost, groom one another, huddle together, and go foraging with each other. Another important aspect of these female companionships is blood-sharing: one female feeds the other by “donating” or regurgitating blood for her to consume (males also occasionally engage in reciprocal blood-sharing). Associations like these can last for five to ten years or more, and some females bond with several different female companions simultaneously.
Frequency: Overt sexual behavior among Gray-headed Flying Foxes and Vampire Bats probably occurs only occasionally (and is more common in male Flying Foxes than in females), but various same-sex activities occur regularly in Livingstone’s Fruit Bats (in captivity). In Vampire Bats, between one-half and three-quarters of all companionships or close associations are between females.
Orientation: Little is known of the individual life histories of these Bats, and so it is difficult to draw any definitive conclusions regarding the orientation of their sexual behavior. Nevertheless, it is likely that many Gray-headed Flying Foxes are seasonally bisexual, since they participate in homosexual activities when they are in the sex-segregated camps during the nonbreeding season. Among Vampire Bats in captivity, some males seem to show what amounts to a preference for homosexual activity, since they bypass females in order to interact sexually with another male (although it is not known whether this “preference” is temporary or long-lasting). Livingstone’s Fruit Bats may be simultaneously bisexual, able to alternate between same-sex and opposite-sex activities in a relatively short span of time.
Nonreproductive and Alternative Heterosexualities
Heterosexuality in all three of these species of Bats is characterized by a variety of nonreproductive sexual behaviors. Gray-headed Flying Foxes copulate throughout the year, including outside the breeding season when females cannot get pregnant, and mating also takes place during pregnancy. In addition, males have a distinct annual hormonal cycle that affects sperm production, with the result that many of their matings are nonprocreative. Male Livingstone’s Fruit Bats sometimes participate in heterosexual mounting without an erection or penetration, and females may REVERSE mount males as well. A prominent feature of Gray-headed Flying Fox sexual behavior is oral sex, in which the male deeply tongues the female’s genitalia for long periods. Both male and female Livingstone’s Fruit Bats also lick the genitals of their partners during heterosexual interactions. In Vampire Bats, masturbation occurs among younger males, while male Livingstone’s Fruit Bats have been observed licking their own penises to erection. Female Vampire Bats sometimes mate with several different males in succession. In this species, a vaginal plug forms in the female’s reproductive tract following copulation, which may prevent insemination from subsequent matings. When not in heat females frequently refuse to mate with males altogether, especially aggressive ones. Heterosexual relations in Livingstone’s Fruit Bats are also less than amicable: females sometimes cuff males or otherwise refuse their advances, and partners may threaten, wrestle, cuff, and bite each other during actual courtship and mating. Vampire Bats have developed an alternative form of parenting behavior in their female groups known as FOOD SHARING: females sometimes help each other feed infants by regurgitating blood for young that are not their own.
Other Species
Male Serotine Bats (Eptesicus serotinus ), a Eurasian species, have been observed making sexual advances toward other males in captivity. While suspended upside down, one male approaches another with his penis erect and mounts him from behind, grasping him above the neck and thrusting his penis between the other male’s legs (under the membrane that stretches between his limbs). Homosexual activity in several species of British Bats is also common among wild males during the spring and summer (i.e., outside of the breeding season). These include Noctules (Nyctalus noctula ), Common Pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus ), Brown Long-eared Bats (Plecotus auritus ), Daubenton’s Bats (Myotis daubentonii ), and Natterer’s Bats (Myotis nattereri) (including interspecies encounters between the latter two). Among wild Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus ) in North America, males often mount other males (as well as females) during the late fall, when many of the mounted individuals are semitorpid. These same-sex copulations usually include ejaculation, and the mounted animal often makes a squawking vocalization. Homosexual behavior also occurs in several other species of Fruit Bats: male Rodrigues Fruit Bats (Pteropus rodricensis ) participate in same-sex mounting, while younger male Indian Fruit Bats (Pteropus giganteus ) often mount one another (with erections and thrusting) while play-wrestling.
Birds
Waterfowl and Other Aquatic Birds Geese, Swans, and Ducks Other Aquatic Birds Wading Birds
Shore Birds Sandpipers and Their Relatives Gulls and Terns
Perching Birds and Songbirds Cotingas, Manakins, and Others Swallows, Warblers, Finches, and Others Sparrows, Blackbirds, and Crows Birds of Paradise, Bowerbirds, and Others
Other Birds Flightless Birds Birds of Prey and Game Birds Hummingbirds, Woodpeckers, and Others
Waterfowl and Other Aquatic Birds
GEESE, SWANS, AND DUCKS