As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Thursday 17 May 2018

Polygamy observed in trio of great horned owls



May 7, 2018 by Bob Yirka, Phys.org weblog

A trio of great horned owls has been found to be engaging in a polygamous relationship according to an ornithologist with Bird Studies Canada. The finding has been reported by Doug Main with National Geographic.

Great horned owls are notoriously territorial, which is why finding two females building nests next to each other was so unusual. Also unusual was the single male bringing food for both of the females as they sat on their eggs. Such behavior, Christian Artuso (with Bird Studies Canada) suggests, likely indicates that the male mated with both females—an example of polygamy. If true, the observation would be the first record of it.

The birds were discovered outside of an office window by Jim Thomas at the Desert Research Institute in Nevada. He alerted the Nevada Department of Wildlife's David Catalano, who is also an ornithologist. Upon viewing the birds, Catalano described the situation as "very, very odd." Not only are great horned owls very protective of their territory, they are also believed to be monogamous. This is the case for most raptors, Main notes, likely due to the huge demands on the male to feed both himself and the female while she is nesting. To follow what was going on, technicians at the Institute set up a webcam to allow others to see the unique situation, as well. Main reports that the owls became quite popular.

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