What Birds Mate for Life? 7 Birds That Do Relationships Better Than Most Humans
Are you still holding onto the first partner you fell in love with? Love is truly a beautiful thing. It becomes even more special if both partners are fully committed to loving and sticking by each other’s side, all day every day, come rain or come shine, in sickness and in health.
But did you know that humans aren’t the only ones who cherish this kind of loyalty?
Yep, that’s right!
Actually, 90% of birds are socially monogamous, meaning they’ll only team up with a single partner at a time. And for some birds, the “...at a time” bit doesn’t actually exist, implying that once they commit to a partner, they’ll exclusively have that one mating partner till their final flight!
This blog post is fully dedicated to these avian love kings and queens whose “Yes, I do” actually means “Till death do us part.”
Understanding Monogamy in Birds
Before we dive into some of the birds that mate for life, let’s first understand what monogamy actually means in the avian world.
Is it the equivalent of monogamous marriage in humans?
Well, not exactly.
In birds, monogamy means committing to a single partner (hence the word “mono”) at least for a breeding season. The members of the pair, usually comprising a male and a female, may or may not have the freedom to mate outside the partnership, depending on the type of monogamy.
Basically, there are three types of monogamy:
Social Monogamy
It’s the most common form of monogamy in the avian world, with 90% of all birds practicing it. In this case, a male pairs with a female bird in at least one breeding season. The pair then builds nests and raises chicks together, sometimes looking like the perfect couple.
But behind the scenes? They aren’t actually that. In the real sense, no one owes the other loyalty in the romantic sense, and so any member of the pair can mate outside the partnership. Think of it as some kind of “open” relationship.
The birds basically pair to harness the power of teamwork in parenting without making loyalty part of the deal.
Genetic Monogamy
In this partnership, the pair stays together and exclusively mates with each other. It’s much like social monogamy in the teamwork aspect, but with the added sense of loyalty in the romantic part. So, all the young ones come from the two parents.
Seasonal vs. Lifelong Monogamy
Unlike the first two, this has nothing to do with the scope of commitment but rather the duration of the partnership.
In seasonal monogamy, a male and a female pair for only a season or a few of them. Then, they’ll move on and find a new partner and repeat the same. Think of it like a short-term contract between partners. Either one is free to move on when it ends—no hard feelings, and no real consequences if someone breaks the deal.
But for lifelong monogamy, which is actually our focus today, it involves only mating with a single partner through all seasons, year after year.
7 Birds That Mate for Life
Having cleared the basics, let’s now embark on our big question: “What birds mate for life?”
Well, here are 7 of them:
1. Love Birds
Of course, love birds had to come first. They have the most coveted love life of any other bird by humans.
The reason? Because when they pair, they actually mean commitment through the years. And get this: these parrots choose a mating partner when they’re as young as two months old and stick to that partner till death.
The courtship rituals are very amusing to watch. However, the male performs them with great vigilance because when a lady lovebird isn’t impressed with the proposal, she will reject it right away, sometimes aggressively.
But once her response is a “yes”, the bond is sealed, and the two will stay together for as long as they’re all alive.
2. Bald Eagles
Bald eagles, also popularly known as “The King of the Skies,” aren’t just good in the air. They also make great and loyal romantic partners.
The courtship affair is usually dramatic, with both eagles performing soaring flights, loud calls, and even the so daring “cartwheel display,” which involves both eagles interlocking their talons mid-air and plummeting towards the earth at high speeds before releasing each other just before impact.
Once the partnership is sealed, the pair will usually stay together through every breeding season. They’ll build a nest together (which is usually as large as 13 feet deep, 9 feet wide, and sometimes weighing over a ton) and raise their eaglets as a couple until the young ones have become independent.
But here it now gets weird: Once the eaglets are big enough to find their own food, the pair will part and go different ways for vacation. They’ll then return to the same nest come the next breeding season. But in case one doesn’t show up, the other partner will find a new mating partner.
3. Albatrosses
Albatrosses have lots of interesting facts to their name. They can fly for up to 6 years without touching land, predict weather, and even sleep mid-air! Wild, right?
Yet, add to that the fact that they also mate for life! That’s right, despite the fact that they can live up to half a century. It’s believed that their courtship dance is usually too sophisticated, and so they have it in them to only pull it off once in their lifetime.
4. Black Vultures
You’ll find these birds in the Northeastern United States and down into South America. They are easy to mistake for the turkey vultures, but there is a notable difference: Black vultures have wings that are straight across, while those of turkey vultures are V-shaped.
Like their predecessors, black vultures only commit to one love partner for their entire lives. They’ll enjoy spending moments with the partner of their choice, even though they love to keep the entanglement within a larger flock comprising relatives.
5. Macaws
Next up are macaws, very colorful and intelligent birds. These birds are extremely proud of their mating partner, and they’re never shy about showing it to the world. That’s why you’ll often see them side by side.
Usually, they take 3 to 4 years to hit sexual maturity and usually get many chicks as a pair. But they’re very thoughtful in how they proceed with it, ensuring that they don’t bring new chicks into the world until the previous ones have fully become independent and moved out of their parents’ house.
In terms of body size, it isn’t even close to that of some of the largest birds in our coverage. But don’t let that fool you: macaws have some of the longest lifespans, living up to 35 years in the wild and twice as long in captivity.
6. Barn Owls
These birds have heart-shaped facial discs and are extremely common. In fact, you’ll find this species on all continents but Antarctica.
Like with most other birds, choosing a life partner involves performing aerial acrobatics. The “moth flight display” is seemingly their favorite stunt, and it involves the male hovering in front of his crush with his feet dangling for several seconds.
Sometimes, the male will go the extra mile and get more food for their favorite female, and it does the trick most of the time. Seemingly, female barn owls believe there’s no better way to show genuine love than being surprised with a dead mouse or any other delicacy in their nest.
7. Swans
Swans come last in our coverage, but they aren’t in any way less loyal to their mating partner than their predecessors. In fact, the immense loyalty of these birds is something scientists have had a difficult time deciphering, especially that of Bewick’s swans.
Scientists at the Wildfowl Trust in Slimbridge took it upon themselves to study thousands of Bewick’s swan pairs for over 50 years. And guess what? Throughout this period, they didn’t register a single instance of divorce.
Imagine half a century of studying thousands of Bewick’s swan pairs and yet… not even a single case of breakup! These birds just never call it quits. At least not on their mating partner. They stick to their day-one promise through thick and thin. And in case death does them part, the remaining member of the pair takes a lot of time to deeply mourn their departed spouse.
Sure, the remaining member may eventually get into a new romantic relationship. However, they don’t show any signs of haste to do it. Sometimes it takes them 6 years or even more after the death of their spouse before they get another partner.
Why Do Some Birds Mate for Life?
Imagine having to stick to one partner your whole life. Such an undying love, it sounds, right? For humans…maybe!
But not exactly for birds. Most tend to stick together for practical reasons and not primarily for undying love.
Here are the top 3 reasons some birds mate for life:
● Efficient Parenting: For some of these birds, the more chicks they co-parent, the better their parental skills get, and hence, the higher the chances of the offspring surviving.
● Getting New Mates Requires Time and Energy: Some of the courtship rituals involved in getting a love partner are overly complex. That’s especially true for Albatrosses and Swans. So, they opt to stick to one partner and spare that energy for navigating the open skies.
● Territorial Defense: Some of these birds stick with the other partner to help them defend their nest invasions. Two is better than one, and long-term partnerships strengthen that defense.
Conclusion
From lovebirds to swans, bald eagles to macaws, these incredible birds show us that loyalty shouldn’t just be fueled by a mere warm feeling or a fleeting passion. It should actually be a strategic and conscious decision.
So, the next time you see two birds flying together, know they might be having better reasons for sticking with each other season after season, wing to wing, than some of the Hollywood couples.
