Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity

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Birds

Waterfowl and Other Aquatic Birds

Geese, Swans, and Ducks

Other Aquatic Birds

Wading Birds

Shore Birds

Sandpipers and Their Relatives

Gulls and Terns

Perching Birds and Songbirds

Cotingas, Manakins, and Others

Swallows, Warblers, Finches, and Others

Sparrows, Blackbirds, and Crows

Birds of Paradise, Bowerbirds, and Others

Other Birds

Flightless Birds

Birds of Prey and Game Birds

Hummingbirds, Woodpeckers, and Others

Waterfowl and Other Aquatic Birds

GEESE, SWANS, AND DUCKS

IDENTIFICATION: A dark gray goose with fine silvery-white feather patterning; the wild ancestor of domestic geese. DISTRIBUTION: Northern and central Eurasia, from Iceland to northeast China. HABITAT: Variable, including marshes, swamps, lakes, lagoons. STUDY AREAS: Konrad-Lorenz Institute, Grunau, Austria; Max-Planck Institute, Seewiesen, Germany; Worlitzer Park, Dessau, Germany; subspecies A.a. anser, the Western Greylag Goose.

Social Organization

Greylag Geese usually associate in flocks containing a complex mixture of pairs, families with offspring, single birds, and subgroups of juveniles. Following the breeding season, migratory flocks sometimes contain thousands of birds. The mating system generally involves long-term, monogamous pair-bonding.

Description

Behavioral Expression: Homosexual pairs made up of two ganders are a prominent form of pair-bonding in Greylag Geese. Male couples are stable and long-lasting: some have been documented as persisting for more than fifteen years, and most homosexual pairs (like heterosexual ones) are probably lifelong partnerships (Greylag Geese can live to be more than 20 years old). “Widower” ganders