Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity

Woodpeckers (Short 1982; Winkler et al. 1995); Skutch, A. F. (1985) Life of the Woodpecker, p. 44 (Santa Monica: Ibis Publishing). For a similar omission of all information on homosexuality in Parrots by the standard “comprehensive” guide to this bird family, see Forshaw (1989).

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See, for example, Fay (1982) on Walruses, Birkhead (1991) on Magpies, Lowther and Cink (1992) on House Sparrows, Davis (1993) on Black-crowned Night Herons, Lowther (1993) on Brown-headed Cowbirds, Telfair (1994) on Cattle Egrets, Burger (1996) on Laughing Gulls, Russell (1996) on Anna’s Hummingbirds, and Ciaranca et al. (1997) on Mute Swans.

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Hooded Warbler (Niven 1993:190); Antbirds (Willis 1967, 1972, 1973); Orange-fronted Parakeet (Buchanan 1966); Golden Plover (Nethersole-Thompson and Nethersole-Thompson 1961, 1986); Mallard Duck (Lebret 1961); Black Swan (Braithwaite 1970, 1981); Scottish Crossbill (Nethersole-Thompson 1975); Black-billed Magpie (Baeyens 1981a); Pied Kingfisher (Moynihan 1990). Similar statements have been made by Konrad Lorenz (1991:241 [Greylag Goose]), who claimed that long-term pair-bonding between males only occurs in Geese and Ducks; and Hunt and Hunt (1977:1467 [Western Gull]), who were unaware of any previous reports of homosexual pairing in wild birds.

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Black-headed Gull (van Rhijn and Groothuis 1985:165; Kharitonov and Zubakin 1984); Adelie Penguin (Davis et al. 1998:136); Humboldt Penguin (Scholten 1992:8); Kestrel (Olsen 452). Similar statements have been issued by scientists studying other species—Sylvestre (1985:64), for example, reported not being aware of any previous records of homosexual activity in Botos, even though fairly extensive descriptions were available in Layne and Caldwell (1964), Caldwell et al. (1966), Spotte (1967), and Pilleri et al. (1980). Walther (1990:308) claimed that courtship betweeen male hoofed mammals had not been observed in the wild, when in fact such behavior had been reported in numerous prior studies, including in Pronghorn, Blackbuck, Mountain Sheep (Bighorn, Thinhorn, Asiatic Mouflon), Mountain Goats, Musk-oxen, Bharal, and Markhor (Walther, F. R. [1990] “Bovids: Introduction,” in Grzimek’s Encyclopedia of Mammals, vol. 5, pp. 290—324 [New York: McGraw-Hill]).

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See, for example, Takahata et al. (1996:149), who ask, “Is GG-rubbing a sexual behavior?” and conclude that its “nonsexual” aspects are more prominent, because of its association with tension reduction, feeding, reassurance, participation by nonestrous females, and the fact that Bonobos (unlike Japanese Macaques) do not form “exclusive homosexual female-female pairs.” None of these characteristics, in fact, negate a fully “sexual” interpretation. In particular, the fact that Bonobos do not form same-sex pairs or consortships hardly argues against the sexual nature of their genital rubbing—it simply indicates that homosexual interactions in this species do not involve extensive pair-bonding. By these criteria, Bonobo heterosexual interactions would have to be considered nonsexual as well, since they are often associated with the same “social” or “nonsexual” situations, nor do individuals form “exclusive heterosexual male-female pairs.” See also Kuroda (1980:190), who considers genital rubbing between females to be “uninterpretable” when it occurs in contexts that are not related to tension reduction or food exchange; and Kano (1980:253—54, 1992:139,1990:66—67, 69), who classifies same-sex activities in Bonobos as primarily “social” rather than “sexual” and ascribes to them the primary “functions” of greeting, reassurance, reconciliation, and food-sharing (while nevertheless recognizing that sexual aspects may be secondarily involved in some cases). As recently as 1997, researchers were still speculating about, and emphasizing, the nonsexual “functions” of Bonobo homosexual activity (Hohmann and Fruth 1997).

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Mountain Sheep (Geist 1975:97—98).

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Vasey, P. L. (1997, August 19) “Summary: Homosexual or Dominance Behavior? (Discussion),” message posted to Primate Talk (on-line discussion list).

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Rhesus Macaque (Hamilton 1914). A standard and widely cited exposition of the dominance interpretation is Wickler, W. (1967) “Socio-sexual Signals and Their Intra-specific Imitation Among Primates,” in D. Morris, ed., Primate Ethology, pp. 69-147 (London: Weidenfield and Nicolson).

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On the occurrence of dominance hierarchies in various mammals and birds without homosexuality, and further references, see Wilson, E. O. (1975) Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, p. 283 (Cambridge and London: Belknap Press); Welty, J. C., and L. Baptista (1988) The Life of Birds, 4th ed., pp. 206-210 (New York: W. B. Saunders).

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