- •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 large (nearly 20 inch) wading bird with bluish purple plumage, a red shield on its forehead, and red feet with long toes.
TASMANIAN NATIVE HEN
Identification: Similar to Pukeko, but flightless, and with grayish brown plumage, no red frontal shield, and shorter legs.
DUSKY MOORHEN
Identification: Similar to Pukeko, but with black plumage and shorter legs.
Social Organization
Pukeko are notable for their “communal” breeding system: they form stable groups of 4—14 birds during the mating season, usually with an equal number of males and females. All adult members (except nonbreeding “helpers,” see below) generally mate with each other, and both sexes take turns incubating the eggs, which are often laid by several females in the same nest. Some birds pair off into (heterosexual) couples or remain single rather than forming communal groups, and outside the breeding season Pukeko usually live in flocks. Many Tasmanian Native Hens and Dusky Moorhens also live in (generally smaller) communal breeding groups that have various types of polygamous or promiscuous mating arrangements. Some Tasmanian Native Hens also form monogamous pair-bonds.
Description
Behavioral Expression: Both male and female Pukeko engage in homosexual courtship and copulation with members of their communal group; these activities are more common and more developed between female birds. Lesbian courtship consists of a sequence of three activities (which also occur during heterosexual interactions). The courtship begins with ALLOPREENING: one female approaches another and bows to her, initiating mutual preening (stylized stroking of each other’s feathers with their bill). This is followed by COURTSHIP-FEEDING, in which the two females exchange ritual gifts of food (usually small leaves or shoots). Finally, copulation takes place: the courting bird approaches the other in a distinctive upright posture while making a nasal HUMMING CALL; her partner adopts a hunched posture and mounting takes place, often with full cloacal (genital) contact. Sometimes, the two females reciprocate, the bird who was mounted first then mounting the other. Male homosexuality usually involves copulation and sometimes allopreening, but not courtship-feeding. Unlike female same-sex interactions, sexual activity between males is often initiated by the bird that is mounted, who places himself in the hunched posture in front of the other male as an invitation to mount.
In Tasmanian Native Hens, homosexual copulations occur in both males (often younger birds) and females living in the same group, while only male Dusky Moorhens participate in same-sex mounting. In all three species, birds that engage in homosexual activities also undertake parental duties such as nest-building, egg laying, incubation, and care of chicks (whether their own or those of other members of their communal group). In fact, homosexual activity (like heterosexual activity) in female Pukeko is most frequent just before or during the period of egg laying. Because birds in Pukeko and Tasmanian Native Hen groups are often related to each other, at least some homosexual—as well as heterosexual—activity is incestuous (mostly between brothers in Tasmanian Native Hens).
Frequency: Homosexuality is common among Pukeko, occurring in nearly 45 percent of all communal groups. In this species, 7 percent of all copulations are homosexual, while 24 percent of courtship-feedings and 59 percent of courtship allopreening interactions are same-sex. In Tasmanian Native Hens and Dusky Moorhens, homosexual copulations make up 1—2 percent of all matings.
Courtship and sexual activity between female Pukeko: “allopreening” (above), approach with “humming call” (middle), and mounting
Orientation: Many adult breeding Pukeko are probably bisexual, capable of engaging in both homosexual and heterosexual courtship and copulation. In some cases, birds alternate between same-sex and opposite-sex copulations in quick succession. Nonbreeding helpers, however, generally participate in neither heterosexual nor homosexual activity. Far fewer individuals participate in homosexual behavior in Tasmanian Native Hens and Dusky Moorhens, but those that do are probably also bisexual.
Nonreproductive and Alternative Heterosexualities
As described above, the most common social unit among these species of Rails is not the heterosexual pair or nuclear family, but the communal group. In some populations of Pukeko, each such group may include up to seven nonbreeding individuals who assist in parental duties. These “helpers” (offspring from previous years) may delay their own reproductive careers for up to three years (one or two years in Tasmanian Native Hens, where an average of 18 percent of adults are nonbreeders). Some physiological mechanisms may be involved in this breeding suppression, since Pukeko helpers often have underdeveloped reproductive organs. In addition to several forms of polygamy, a number of other mating and parenting arrangements are found in these groups. For example, although all birds in Tasmanian Native Hen groups usually mate with each other, sometimes only one male-female pair actually has reproductive copulations. This social system has been called GENETIC MONOGAMY (because only one couple breeds) within SOCIAL POLYGAMY (since multiple partners mate with each other). In addition, although most group members remain together for life, females occasionally “divorce” their mates and join a new group; in some cases, this may lead to a female parenting young that are not her own. Occasionally, she may behave aggressively toward these foster chicks, even expelling them from the group. More violent confrontations sometimes occur when chicks stray into neighboring territories, where they may be killed by the resident group members. However, chicks are sometimes also adopted by neighboring groups, in both Tasmanian Native Hens and Dusky Moorhens.
Among breeding Pukeko, up to five males may court and mount the same female in quick succession—in these cases, one or more of the males may not actually inseminate the female. In fact, the “success” rate for most heterosexual copulations is not high: between one-half and two-thirds do not involve full genital contact and so do not result in insemination. Females often resist heterosexual advances by refusing to allow males to mount them, pecking at males who do mount them, preventing genital contact by not raising their tails, and prematurely terminating mating attempts. Copulations also occur when females are not fertile—for example, long before egg laying begins—and some males mate repeatedly without ever fathering any offspring that year. Similarly, mounts without genital contact account for more than a third of Dusky Moorhen matings and 60 percent of Tasmanian Native Hen matings. A few of these are REVERSE copulations, in which the female mounts the male. Incestuous matings are also common in Pukeko and Tasmanian Native Hens. Nearly two-thirds of all Pukeko heterosexual copulations in some populations are between related individuals, including mother-son, father-daughter, and brother-sister matings. More than 40 percent of Tasmanian Native Hen breeding groups contain related adults that mate with each other (mostly siblings); in addition, about 10 percent of copulations involve parents mounting their own offspring, including young chicks.
Other Species
Stable homosexual pairs often form among Cranes (e.g., Grus spp.) in captivity, a group of birds that is closely related to Rails.
IDENTIFICATION: A medium-sized brown, storklike bird with a prominent crest almost as long as its bill. DISTRIBUTION: Throughout tropical Africa from Senegal to east and south Africa; Madagascar. HABITAT: Wetlands, including savanna and woodland near water. STUDY AREAS: Near Niono, Mali; Karen and Nairobi, Kenya.
Social Organization
Hammerheads are usually found in pairs or groups of 8—10 individuals, though larger groups of up to 50 birds may also congregate. The mating system is believed to involve monogamous pair-bonds. Couples build extraordinarily large domed nests, often several on the same territory.
Description
Behavioral Expression: Hammerheads engage in a striking group courtship ceremony that includes same-sex mounting. Gathering at dawn on open lawns, riverbanks, rocks, or in the trees, groups of 3—20 birds (including some mated pairs) begin calling in unison. Their calls consist of a series of loud, high-toned yips that develop into a rapid sequence of “purring” or trilling notes, often accompanied by wing-flapping. Two or more birds may then perform a NODDING DISPLAY to each other, in which the bill is rapidly bobbed up and down (sometimes still accompanied by the YIP-PURR chorus), or pairs of birds may run in circles side by side. The culmination of this spectacular display is a series of mountings, initiated when one bird runs up to another, drooping and flicking its wings while it raises and lowers its crest, or when one bird solicits another by crouching, cocking its tail, and partially opening its wings. One Hammerhead then hops onto the back of the other, similar to a heterosexual copulation—except that, in addition to males mounting females, males also mount other males, and females mount females as well as males. The mounting bird beats its wings and gives the YIP-PURR call, while the mounted bird presses its tail up against the lowered tail of the mounter (though no cloacal [genital] contact takes place). Sometimes the two birds face in opposite directions; reciprocal mounting (mounter and mountee exchanging positions, often several times in succession) also occurs, as do “pile-ups” of three or four birds all mounted on each other.
A female Hammerhead mounting another female
Frequency: Social courtship displays including ritualized same-sex mounting occur commonly in Hammerheads throughout the year. Each mounting session lasts for 10—40 minutes and may include dozens of mountings
Orientation: All Hammerheads participate in group courtship displays, and most birds are probably involved in both same-sex and opposite-sex mountings.
Nonreproductive and Alternative Heterosexualities
As noted above, nonprocreative heterosexual activity (REVERSE mounting, as well as male-female mounts without cloacal contact) is common in Hammerheads. In addition, a significant percentage of heterosexual pairs may be nonbreeders. In some populations, as many as three-quarters of nests go unused (although some of these are “extra” nests built by breeding pairs), and couples may forgo breeding for four or more years at a time.
Other Species
Same-sex pairing occurs in semiwild White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) in some European populations, and individuals form homosexual pairs even when numerous opposite-sex partners are available. Same-sex pairs are able to successfully incubate, hatch, and raise foster young.