Bird couples--it's not all paradise!

Did you hear this story on NPR? It was on a few days ago, and when AB (that's the woman I'm dating; I'm trying to be discreet and only use her initials for now) heard it, she thought of me and my love of birds.

It seems some birds, though mated, will commit adultery (to use human terms) and that some bird couples try their best to thwart their partners' roving eyes!

Birds seem like models of monogamy — building their nests, hatching their eggs and raising their young together. But it turns out, in the avian world, adultery is not uncommon. And both males and females may have a wandering eye.

Ornithologists Nathalie Seddon and Joe Tobias of the University of Oxford have been studying the songs of the Peruvian warbling antbird. In their latest research, published in Current Biology, they report that an antbird couple will sing a harmonious duet when confronted by an intruding rival pair.

But if an unattached female enters the scene, the antbird "wife" starts jamming her mate's song. She interrupts her spouse with her own music, to his great frustration.

Dr. Seddon believes these findings could provide insight into the development of human music.

WOW! Imagine--these birds are just like those sad couples you see sometimes, where the guy is always checking out other women and the woman lets him know she's not happy about it!

Now I don't know if I agree with the idea that human music development might've been affected by these little displays of jealousy. That seems to imply --what?--that perhaps humans started doing this same kind of singing (?) when they experienced similar events in their own relationships? I don't know about all that. I'd have to hear more about this theoretized link.

Still--I find it fascinating that love relationships in the bird world can be so similar to human ones, even if the motives behind the actions might be different. I try not to anthropomorphize animal behavior; I'm guessing the female is only working to keep her partner in line to ensure that he's around to help with the brooding and care of their young, hence better chances of survival. I'm sure the female bird isn't thinking, "My GOD, he's looking at that Phyllis Antbird AGAIN! Doesn't he still love me? Is he gonna break my heart?" (hee hee) But the partner still sees something she doesn't like, and she sure lets him know about it. Pretty neat.

There is a big indicator that the writer of this story doesn't know a lot about birds; the lede of the story is kinda silly. We birders know that not all male birds stick around to help out the female after the necessary deed is done. Northern cardinals may mate for life, but I'd guess such devoted couplehood isn't that common in the animal world.

Still--this is some pretty amazing research, don't you think? Birds are so cool.

Is the Culture War Over?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Rev. Barry W. Lynn appearing on The ED Show, on MSNBC last night. Lynn says the cultural war is "not over."

Previews of coming attractions

It feels weird, knowing who reads this blog, to write about my plans for Cape May at the end of the month; after all, many of you will be taking your own adventure to West Virginia -- which I was supposed to do as well, until finances got in the way. So -- I'll write about the plans, but just know that my little birdy heart is still wanting to be in WV with the Flock at the same it wants to be in Cape May with Gretchen. I feel a little torn in two.

I love you guys!

That said, things are going well in preparation for the Cape May trip. We have our deposit down for a campsite at Beachcomber Camping Resort, 4 miles from Cape May. We're thinking that we shouldn't take Domino, because we probably wouldn't be able to bring her birding with us. Not that she isn't a great dog to bird with, because she is -- she stays right by Gretchen's side and is very quiet; she's a very mellow old girl. But I'm sure we probably couldn't take her on the boardwalk at CM Point, or to the Meadows, etc. So I'm kinda bummed, because I was looking forward to getting a picture of her on the beach--she would love that--but it's probably best that she stays home with friends.

So that's handled, and the campsite is handled, and we've outlined several birding trips we'll be going on to make sure we see as many birds as possible. We'll also ride the ferry to Lewes DE and spend some time on the shore there, as Laura said that's the best place to see shorebirds. It's gonna be truckloads of good birding, and I can't wait.

And by the way... remember how I said I wanted to meet someone who was actually interested in birds? Well, I did (update: and it's not Gretchen! She's my bff; this is another woman I'm referring to)--she's terrific! Things are kinda weird because I'm moving away in a few months, but in the meantime--we're just going to enjoy our time together. So if my posts get all gushy and happy, now you know why!