Copulation Location Criteria, and Span of Time Plus Where do ducks "do it"?

 
 Photo courtesy http://www.palemale.com/

Pale Male and Octavia copulate on a favored light fixture on The Essex.  No matter the mate, she often chooses that particular spot to present herself to Pale Male.

Which gets me thinking about Red-tailed Hawk criteria.  They definitely have criteria for nest building as we've discussed before.

What would be the criteria for the spots chosen for copulation?

I would think that having the hawks protected from the rear might be advantageous.  In this case by the building.

But the male would still need a route to fly to the female without any undue obstructions.

Though the female will perch at the ready in a place with a somewhat obscured view, I would  think part of the male's responsibility would be to make sure there were no intruders to which they would be vulnerable for the limited time Red-tail copulation lasts.

Digression Alert!  

"Treading", to use the archaic term,  in the avian specie we most regularly see, is rapid by mammal standards-- often less than 15 seconds. 

This makes evolutionary sense as the pair isn't at their most alert against possible attack during these interludes.  They are vulnerable during copulation.

Why is it then, in African Grey Parrots for example, copulation between pairs can last comparable periods of time to that in humans?    

What is the evolutionary advantage in lengthy copulation for some species and not in others? 

I would posit in some species it has to do with building stronger pair bonds. 

Hawks go through a lengthy courtship which tests their abilities of flight and of hunting acuity.  The coordinated moves of courtship give them time to learn the physical cues their partner displays in flight and changes in flight patterns which will be very important in coordinating defense of the nest later on.

And as only the pair holds the territory they must be ready at any given moment to hold that territory.  They can't be off spooning when a concerted attack to take over the nest site occurs. 

What characteristics do humans and African Greys have in common?  

Both species have a tendency to live near their own kind.  Therefore there are other cooperating members of the species who will be "holding the fort" while the pair is entranced with each other for lengthier periods of time?

Both species are intelligent and can talk.  Could bonding in both species be linked in some ways to finding pair synchronicity through speech and coordinated movement during lengthy copulation? 

My,  my, my.

More thoughts on that later... 

In the meantime....what about DUCKS?

Photo courtesy of Francois Portmann   Mallard Copulation
 Of course, ducks do it in the water. 
 
Amazing wildlife photographer Francois Portmann took stunning photographs of Central Park waterfowl in February. 

 Do check them out.  
You will be very glad you did.

http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/

Donegal Browne

A Disputed Meal, Red-tailed Hawk Fledgling Style

  All photos in this post by Central Park Hawk Observer and photographer Jeff Johnson

Here is the promised tussle sequence of the two fledglings of Pale Male and Zena disputing a meal.  It is believed by some watchers that one of the fledglings was a recipient of a parental delivery of food.  

One fledgling claimed the prey and then her sibling came along and tried to take it from her.  This pretty much par for the course with Red-tail fledglings.

 It is hard to tell but Jeff Johnson, said he thinks it likely that the original holder of the meal is the one  who ended up with it.

Note the feathers raised on the top of the head. 

 
Note both sets of feet with their talons tend to remain on the ground.

And the feet are the business end of a Red-tailed Hawk.  You'd think that they'd bite at each other but in my experience hawks seldom if ever bite anything but their food.

  Doesn't the aggressor appear to be enjoying herself? It apparently doesn't get much better than beating your sibling repeatedly with your wings from behind.

 This appears to me that the quick look back may be a sign that the holder of food is tempted to let go and continue the free for all face to face.

 But she remembers in time not to be tempted into letting go and hunkers down to withstand the onslaught.

  

And stays that way.  DRAT!

It is a very hot day and both fledglings are panting from their efforts.

 
Note that yes, the holder of the prey is mantling it with outstretched wings, but the non-holder has her wings expanded as well to release some heat.

Fine!

And she's back!  Possibly tempting the food holder to take a cheap shot at her back and thus release the goodies?

Not a chance.

And not a feather or a drop of blood appears to have been lost in the interlude.

Jeff Johnson wrote,

I still can't get over how the two fledglings wrestling over that bird meal seemed to be engaged in a life or death struggle...yet looking at the frames shows that they were almost always just bumping one another back to belly. Talons and beaks were not slashing...the one with the bird really looked like he/she was just "recovering a fumble...protecting the football". 

There is a previous post of today so if you've not seen it do continue to scroll down.

Still more to post of this week's Fifth Avenue Fledgling Activities--STAY TUNED!

Donegal Browne