How Do Birds Mate

A majority, almost ninety percent of the birds are believed to be monogamous by nature, i.e. they have the same mate all through the mating season. Some birds are even believed to stay with the same partner throughout their lives. Unlike the animals, male birds fully participate in baby care along with the female ones, that is the main reason why most birds stick to a single partner.

Some of the monogamous birds are geese, eagles, swans, doves, robins and owls. Although, there are certain species of birds who practice polyandry and polygyny, a single female bird mating with a number of male birds or a single male bird mating with a number of females, still their percentage is very small. In order to fully understand this, let us first of all know about the male and the female bird reproductive organs.

Reproductive Organs

The male birds produce sperms through their two testes. The testes are located inside the body of the male bird, very near to the kidneys. When it's the breeding season, the size of the testes increases considerably. Birds of both the genders have an opening, known as cloaca which is used while mating. When the sperms are produced, they move to this opening and are stored there till insemination takes place. Just like the male testes, the ovaries of the female bird increase in size during the breeding season too so that ovum can be produced.

Certain males such as those among the swans, kiwis, ostriches, ducks and geese have a penis which can be retracted back into their body. These birds mate in water and a retractable penis makes sure that the sperms do not get wasted away by the water.

Mating Process

The mating of all kinds of birds starts with a courtship period, in which the male bird tries to woo the female bird. During the courtship period, in order to attract the female bird, the male bird resorts to singing as well as dancing (tail drumming). To show her willingness, the female bird changes the position of her tail and keeps it to the side. This is an indication that she wants the male bird to stand behind her for mating.

For the actual act of birds mating, the male positions his cloaca in proximity to that of the female's cloaca so that the sperms can enter the female bird. The cloacas of both the male and the female are pressed tightly together at this juncture in what is termed as a "cloacal kiss" so that the sperms can pass through smoothly. Once the sperms enter the female bird, they are stored till the time the eggs come out of the ovaries of the female bird. Some species of birds can store the sperm for only about a week while others can store the sperms for hundred days. When the eggs fall out from the ovaries, they are fertilized by the stored sperms. These fertilized eggs are then laid by the female bird through the same opening i.e. cloaca.

It is not biologically important for birds to mate frequently as the sperm is stored inside the female bird for a long time. Still, birds copulate a number of times during the breeding season as during this time, hormones play havoc with their system and they experience an undeniable urge to have sex.

Majority of the birds mate the same way as mentioned above. Post mating, when the eggs are laid, the baby bird grows inside the eggs and to aid this process the male and the female bird incubate it. Finally, one day the egg is hatched and the small baby birds come out from the eggs. The question one should really be concerned about is not how birds mate but how do we provide them with a conducive environment so that more and more birds are reproduced, whose beauty we can enjoy while bird watching, for years to come.