Bruce Bagemihl - Biological Exuberance

Orientation: Oystercatchers that participate in same-sex activities are usually bisexual, being part of a bonded trio with a member of the opposite sex and sometimes also engaging in promiscuous heterosexual activities. Within the trio, however, one bird may be more homosexually oriented than the other, i.e., it may have a closer bond with a bird of the same sex, while the other may have a stronger heterosexual bond. In one bisexual trio involving two males and a female, for example, 85 percent of one male’s courtship activities and more than a third of his mounting activities were homosexual; for the other male, about 70 percent of his courtships and a quarter of his mounting activities were same-sex. Some female Oystercatchers in bisexual trios also end up leaving their trio and pairing with a male, although this occurs less frequently than for females in heterosexual trios.

Polygamous heterosexual trios (without same-sex activities) sometimes form in Oystercatchers (as mentioned above), and the same phenomenon also occurs in Golden Plovers. In addition, several other variations on the long-term, monogamous, male-female parenting unit have developed in these species. Although pair-bonds in Oystercatchers and Golden Plovers sometimes last for life, heterosexual partners may divorce and re-pair with new mates. In some Oystercatcher populations 6—10 percent of couples divorce, and the average length of a pair-bond is only two to three years. Some birds (particularly females) divorce repeatedly and may have as many as six or seven different partners during their lives, and only about half of all birds remain with the same partner for life. A female Golden Plover sometimes deserts her mate during the breeding season (often to start a second family with a new male); her former mate must then raise their young on his own. In addition to single parenting, “double-family parenting” sometimes occurs: two Plover families occasionally share the same territory (with one couple breeding earlier than the other) and may help defend each other’s brood. Oystercatcher pairs sometimes foster-parent chicks of other related species such as lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) and avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta), occasionally even “adopting” and hatching foreign eggs.

Infidelity is a prominent feature of Oystercatcher pair-bonds. Up to 7 percent of all copulations are nonmonogamous, often between a paired female and a single male (and usually initiated by the female). Females often have an extended “affair” with a particular male over several years and may eventually leave their mate to pair with him; some females are even unfaithful to their new partner by continuing to copulate with their “ex” after they have remated. However, nonmonogamous mates are not generally more likely to divorce than strictly monogamous pairs, and in fact some evidence suggests that Oystercatchers who engage in outside sexual activity are actually more likely to stay together. One study found that 0–5 percent of unfaithful birds divorced, while 11 percent of monogamous ones did. Many nonmonogamous matings are nonreproductive, occurring too early in the breeding season for fertilization to be possible, or between nonbreeders; in fact, only 2–5 percent of all chicks are the result of infidelities. There are several distinct categories of nonbreeders in this species, including nonbreeding pairs with territories (about 5 percent of all pairs) and FLOATERS without any territories. Overall, about 30 percent of the adult population is nonbreeding. Nevertheless, such birds still engage in sexual behavior, both with each other and with paired birds. Nonbreeding pairs and individuals also occur in Golden Plovers, and on average about half of the population is nonreproductive at any time.

Many within-pair copulations are also nonprocreative, with about 40 percent occurring too early or too late in the breeding season (for Oystercatchers), or during incubation. In addition, it has been estimated that each Oystercatcher pair copulates about 700 times during the breeding season—far in excess of the amount required for reproduction. Oystercatchers also sometimes practice nonreproductive REVERSE copulations, in which the female mounts the male. And as mentioned above, a quarter to a third of mounts between heterosexual mates do not involve genital contact; many such copulations are incomplete because the female throws the male off her back or otherwise refuses to participate. Much more rarely, a male will rape or forcibly copulate with a nonconsenting female. Adult-youngster interactions are also sometimes marked by violence and neglect: Oystercatcher chicks have been viciously attacked and even killed when they stray into another bird’s territory. In addition, LEAPFROG parents often starve their chicks by failing to bring them enough food. Leapfrog birds are those whose nesting territories are located farther inland, separate from the feeding territories, hence to obtain food they must “leapfrog” over birds that nest directly adjacent to the shore. Studies have shown that the territories of such Oystercatchers do not, however, place undue time or energy constraints on them compared to nonleapfrogs. Thus, the fact that their chicks sometimes starve is due more to inadequate parental care than to their suboptimal territories.

*asterisked references discuss homosexuality/transgender

Edwards, P. J. (1982) “Plumage Variation, Territoriality, and Breeding Displays of the Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria in Southwest Scotland.” Ibis 124:88—96.

*Ens, B. J. (1998) “Love Thine Enemy?” Nature 391:635—37.

*———(1996) Personal communication.

———(1992) “The Social Prisoner: Causes of Natural Variation in Reproductive Success of the Oystercatcher.” Ph.D. thesis., University of Groningen.

Ens, B. J., M. Kersten, A. Brenninkmeijer, and J. B. Hulscher (1992) “Territory Quality, Parental Effort, and Reproductive Success of Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus).” Journal of Animal Ecology 61:703—15.

Ens, B. J., U. N. Safriel, and M. P. Harris (1993) “Divorce in the Long-lived and Monogamous Oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus: Incompatibility or Choosing the Better Option?” Animal Behavior 45:1199—217.

Hampshire, J. S., and F. J. Russell (1993) “Oystercatchers Rearing Northern Lapwing Chick.” British Birds 86:17-19.

Harris, M. P., U. N. Safriel, M. de L. Brooke, and C. K. Britton (1987) “The Pair Bond and Divorce Among Oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus on Skokholm Island, Wales.” Ibis 129:45—57.

*Heg, D. (1998) Personal communication.

Heg, D., B. J. Ens, T. Burke, L. Jenkins, and J. P. Kruijt (1993) “Why Does the Typically Monogamous Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) Engage in Extra-Pair Copulations?” Behavior 126:247—89.

*Heg, D., and R. van Treuren (1998) “Female-Female Cooperation in Polygynous Oystercatchers.” Nature 391:687-91.

*Makkink, G. F. (1942) “Contribution to the Knowledge of the Behavior of the Oyster-Catcher (Haematopus ostralegus L.).” Ardea 31:23-74.

*Nethersole-Thompson, D., and C. Nethersole-Thompson (1961) “The Breeding Behavior of the British Golden Plover.” In D. A. Bannerman, ed., The Birds of the British Isles, vol.10, pp. 206-14. Edinburgh and London: Oliver and Boyd.

*Nethersole-Thompson, D., and M. Nethersole-Thompson (1986) Waders: Their Breeding, Haunts, and Watchers. Calton: T. and A. D. Poyser.

Parr, R. (1992) “Sequential Polyandry by Golden Plovers.” British Birds 85:309.