Lady Birds Cleverly Force Divorce

If you have been through one, you understand that breakups are rough. Apparently, they can be just as bad for birds as they are for humans, where many couples will tragically separate when things get particularly rocky. Interestingly, a new study has found that the female is almost always the one doing the dumping.

The study, recently published in the journal Biological Reviews details how divorce has been observed in a stunning 92 percent of all monogamous bird populations.

"Divorce is an adaptive strategy as it is triggered by generally low breeding success, and as it leads to increase in breeding success between the two seasons," study author Antica Culina said in a statement.

Culina and his colleagues analyzed data recorded on 64 different species, focusing particularly on coupling displays and similar displays that may be signaling a divorce.

Among humans, when a woman throws her engagement ring at a man and storms out of a restaurant, it's a good indicator that things are over. But among birds, it's a lot more about the egg clutch.

According to the study, pairs in which the female produced a low number of eggs or laid them relatively late were less likely to stick together for a second breeding season. Culina admits that it's very possible that, like with other animals, the males may have realized the female can only mother a limited number of children, and so head off to find a better mate.

However, the researchers also suggests that because female birds have been known to control the time and number of eggs they hatch, this could be a sly method to see a poorly performing male off.

"It might be that she's already made the decision, and because she doesn't like him very much, she won't make many eggs," Culina told New Scientist.

She and her team also observed that females who divorce gain better breeding success with a new partner, but males who divorce rarely ever wind up doing better. This is a strong indicator that, through subterfuge, a female bird's decision is the primary driver of divorce.