Birds Do It – Kiss, That Is

I was curious what other species besides humans perform the act of kissing.   My research revealed that just one other specie does what could be considered sexual kissing – or performs a ritual involving a kiss during mating.

Drum roll, please………

WHITE-FRONTED PARROTS

These birds, native to Mexico and and Central America, are believed to be the only species besides humans to kiss.   Before actually mating, male and female lock their beaks and gently flick their tongues together.  If this kissing is satisfying for both parties, the male bravely takes the next step –  regurgitating his food for his girlfriend – to show his love.  Unlike many other species, the white-fronted parrots also share parenting.  When the female lays her one egg, both parents take turns incubating it.  When the baby hatches, the couple feed and care for their offspring together. 

While we’re on the subject,  I found more information regarding the sexual rituals of some other species that I hope you’ll find interesting.

PENGUINS

Penguins prefer to be “married,” but they suffer long separations due to their migratory habits.  When reunited, a pair will stand breast to breast, heads thrown back, singing loudly, with outstretched flippers trembling.  Two weeks after a pair is formed, their union is consummated.  The male makes his intentions known by laying his head across his partner’s stomach.  They go on a long trek to find privacy, but the actual process of intercourse takes only three minutes. Neither penguin will mate again that year.  The male Adele penguin must select his mate from a colony of more than a million, and he indicates his choice by rolling a stone at the female’s feet.  Stones are scarce at mating time because many are needed to build walls around nests.  It becomes commonplace for penguins to steal them from one another.  If the female accepts this gift, they stand belly to belly and sing a mating song.

If you saw the movie The March of the Penguins, you know about the grueling trip the males make each year to find food and then return to the huddled masses of females and young – so they are apart for most of their marriage.  It’s quite a touching film – I recommend it if you haven’t seen it.

THE MALE UGANDA KOB

Exhaustion is the frequent fate of the male Uganda kob, an African antelope.  Like many species of birds and mammals, the kob roams in a social group until the mating season, when the dominant male establishes a mating territory, or lek.  But the females decide which territory they wish to enter and then pick the male they think most attractive.  He then mates with all the females until he is too weak to continue (usually due to lack of food) and is replaced by another.

Wow, these guys have it rough!  Well, I guess that all depends on how you view it, right?