Birds Get Divorced Too

It’s a shame when two humans  have to go their separate ways.

But usually, we can also see  that they’re better off for it.

Divorce is just one of those  realities we have to put up with.

And yet for some reason, we’re much more romantic  when it comes to animals, especially birds.

TV documentaries tell us they  “mate for life,” and we picture  

them lovingly hatching chicks together  and caring for them in perpetual bliss.

Which is by no means always the case.

Birds will cheat, run away, and yes, divorce.

Even in species that supposedly mate for life.

Here’s why some birds might find  themselves in divorce court.

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First off, we should probably clarify  the language we’re using here.

“Divorce” is the term used in the  literature for when these pairs split up.

Many birds will have a pair bond where a male and  

female couple will raise that  season’s young with each other.

That’s the classic, warm fuzzy bit we all know.

The real question is whether or not  they come back together again next year.

If they do, the pair bond is going strong.

If not, the pair bond is broken –  what the literature calls a divorce.

But unlike humans, who split up for personal,  economic, or any number of different reasons,  

birds are just responding to selective  pressures in their environment.

These birds may be the stuff of daytime  talk shows, but in this episode,