Mating between males, and still more frequently
between females, often occurs at an early age: up to the second year. I
have had several pairs of pigeons formed by subjects of the same sex who
for many months behaved as if the mating were natural. In some cases this
had taken place among young birds of the same nest, who acted like real
mates, though both subjects were males. In order to mate them productively
we have had to separate them and shut each of them up for some days with a
female."[11] In the Berlin Zooelogical Gardens also, it has been noticed
that two birds of the same sex will occasionally become attached to each
other and remain so in spite of repeated advances from individuals of
opposite sex. This occurred, for instance, in the case of two males of the
Egyptian goose who were thus to all appearance paired, and always kept
together, vigorously driving away any female that approached. Similarly a
male Australian sheldrake was paired to a male of another species.[12]
Among birds generally, inverted sexuality seems to accompany the
development of the secondary sexual characters of the opposite sex which
is sometimes found.
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