List of birds displaying homosexual behavior

Two New York Central Park Zoo's male chinstrap penguins, similar to those pictured, became internationally known when they coupled and later were given an egg that needed hatching and care, which they successfully did.[1]

For these birds, there is documented evidence of homosexual or transgender behavior of one or more of the following kinds: sex, courtship, affection, pair bonding, or parenting, as noted in researcher and author Bruce Bagemihl's 1999 book Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity.

Bagemihl writes that the presence of same-sex sexual behavior was not 'officially' observed on a large scale until the 1990s due to possible observer bias caused by social attitudes towards LGBT people.[2][3] Bagemihl devotes three chapters; Two Hundred Years at Looking at Homosexual Wildlife, Explaining (Away) Animal Homosexuality and Not For Breeding Only in his 1999 book Biological Exuberance to the "documentation of systematic prejudices" where he notes "the present ignorance of biology lies precisely in its single-minded attempt to find reproductive (or other) "explanations" for homosexuality, transgender, and non-procreative and alternative heterosexualities.[4] Petter Bøckman, academic adviser for the Against Nature? exhibit stated "[M]any researchers have described homosexuality as something altogether different from sex. They must realise that animals can have sex with who they will, when they will and without consideration to a researcher's ethical principles". Homosexual behavior is found amongst social birds and mammals, particularly the sea mammals and the primates.[3]

Animal sexual behavior takes many different forms, even within the same species and the motivations for and implications of their behaviors have yet to be fully understood. Bagemihl's research shows that homosexual behavior, not necessarily sex, has been documented in about 500 species as of 1999, ranging from primates to gut worms.[2][5] Homosexuality in animals is seen as controversial by social conservatives because it asserts the naturalness of homosexuality in humans, while others counter that it has no implications and is nonsensical to equate animal behavior to morality.[6][7] Animal preference and motivation is always inferred from behavior. Thus homosexual behavior has been given a number of terms over the years. The correct usage of the term homosexual is that an animal exhibits homosexual behavior, however this article conforms to the usage by modern research[8][9][10][11] applying the term homosexuality to all sexual behavior (copulation, genital stimulation, mating games and sexual display behavior) between animals of the same sex.

This is an incomplete list that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

This list is part of a larger list of animals displaying homosexual behavior including mammals, insects, fish etc.

Selected images

  1. ^ Kick (2001)
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Central_Park_Zoo.27s_gay_penguins was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 566-569
  4. ^ Imaginova (2007i)
  5. ^ Goudarzi (2006)
  6. ^ Imaginova (2007f)

Birds

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Smith (February 7, 2004)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Bagemihl (1999)
  3. 3.0 3.1 News-medical.net (2006)
  4. Bagemihl (1999) page 213
  5. Harrold (1999)
  6. Solimeo (2004)
  7. Solimeo (2004b)
  8. Bagemihl (1999) pages 122-166
  9. Roughgarden (2004) pp.13-183
  10. Vasey (1995) pages 173-204
  11. Sommer & Vasey (2006)
  12. 12.0 12.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 644-7
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 365 Gay.com (2005)
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Bagemihl (1999) pages 524-7
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Bagemihl (1999) pages 552-6
  16. 16.0 16.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 640-3
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Bagemihl (1999) pages 496-500
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 18.8 18.9 18.10 18.11 18.12 18.13 18.14 Bagemihl (1999) pages 650-5
  19. Bagemihl (1999) pages 81 & 89
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 Bagemihl (1999) pages 583-6
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Bagemihl (1999) pages 632-5
  22. Poiani (2010) page 47
  23. 23.0 23.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 575-7
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 Bagemihl (1999) pages 606-10
  25. Bagemihl (1999) pages 511-3
  26. Bagemihl (1999) pages 556-9
  27. 27.0 27.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 536-9
  28. Goudarzi (2006)
  29. 30.0 30.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 572-4
  30. 31.0 31.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 647-9
  31. 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 Bagemihl (1999) pages 594-7
  32. 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 Bagemihl (1999) pages 491-5
  33. 34.0 34.1 34.2 Bagemihl (1999) pages 602-5
  34. Bagemihl (1999) page 81
  35. 36.0 36.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 528-32
  36. Bagemihl (1999) pages 569-71
  37. 38.0 38.1 38.2 38.3 Bagemihl (1999) pages 544-8
  38. 39.0 39.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 483-7
  39. 40.0 40.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 563-5
  40. 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 Bagemihl (1999) pages 514-7
  41. 42.0 42.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 591-3
  42. Bagemihl (1999) pages 83
  43. Smith (February 7, 2004)]
  44. 45.0 45.1 45.2 45.3 Bagemihl (1999) pages 501-5
  45. 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.3 Bagemihl (1999) pages 518-22
  46. 47.0 47.1 47.2 Bagemihl (1999) page 621-6
  47. 48.0 48.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 539-43
  48. 49.0 49.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 506-8
  49. Bagemihl (1999) pages 600
  50. 51.0 51.1 51.2 Bagemihl (1999) pages 598-601
  51. Bagemihl (1999) page 613
  52. Bagemihl (1999) pages 534, 535
  53. 54.0 54.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 533-536
  54. Bagemihl (1999), page 479-482
  55. Bagemihl (1999), page 522-524
  56. 59.0 59.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 509-10
  57. Bagemihl (1999) pages 587-590
  58. 61.0 61.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 560-562
  59. Bagemihl (1999) pages 548-552
  60. 63.0 63.1 Bagemihl (1999) page 232
  61. Bagemihl (1999) pages 487-491
  62. Bagemihl (1999) pages 141-142, 577-579
  63. Bagemihl (1999) page 596
  64. Bagemihl (1999) pages 486, 663
  65. Bagemihl (1999) page 634
  66. 69.0 69.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 611-614
  67. Bagemihl (1999) page 601
  68. Bagemihl (1999) pages 614-616
  69. 72.0 72.1 Bagemihl (1999) page 639
  70. 73.0 73.1 Bagemihl (1999) pages 636-639
  71. Bagemihl (1999) page 616
  72. Bagemihl (1999) page 604
  73. Bagemihl (1999) page 635
  74. Poiani (2010) page 49
  75. Bagemihl (1999) pages 617-620
  76. Bagemihl (1999) pages 580-3
  77. Bagemihl (1999) page 489
  78. Bagemihl (1999) pages 82, 90
  79. Bagemihl (1999) pages 206, 232
  80. Bagemihl (1999) pages 81, 85, 101, 150, 156


See also

Bibliography