Amazing stuff!
Notice Oxford University insists in their news release that masturbation should not be punished! How old is Oxford University? 😊
"... In a new study, scientists investigated acts of autosexual behavior in 120 bird species across 22 major groups. The team surveyed bird experts, gathered data from online communities of bird enthusiasts, and combed the relatively scant scientific literature on bird masturbation. “Avian self-pleasure is usually a rather inelegant affair,” they wrote in a piece for The Conversation, which involves a bird rubbing its cloaca against an object, frequently accompanied by wing-flapping and “self-satisfied” vocalizations.
Such behavior, the researchers found, is widespread among bird species and is actually more common in the wild than in captivity. Although slightly more accounts involved males, self-love occurred in both sexes and across all age groups. Species that mate with multiple partners were more likely to engage in the behavior than socially monogamous species or species that form long-term pair bonds, suggesting that it helps increase reproductive success or plays a role in enhancing sexual arousal. ..."
From the abstract:
"Most theories on sexual behaviours are based on adaptive explanations. However, masturbation, a common but scarcely discussed sexual behaviour, appears a Darwinian puzzle.
Why would individuals waste valuable resources such as time, energy and, for males, sperm?
We combined targeted surveys with information from published accounts to test hypotheses about why masturbation occurs, using a phylogenetically broad dataset on the presence or absence of masturbation across 120 bird species.
We find masturbation is widespread in birds, but strongly phylogenetically conserved, typically being fixed (as present or absent) or nearly so within broad clades.
Masturbation is more common in males, though the widespread evidence for masturbation in females suggests that maintaining fresh sperm in testes cannot be the single explanation.
We find no difference in masturbation occurrence between juveniles and adults, further suggesting that it does not solely represent practice copulations before maturity.
Species with indiscriminate matings are more likely to masturbate than socially monogamous species or species with long-term pair bonds.
Importantly, as masturbation is more commonly reported in wild than captive birds, we find it is therefore not a negative or maladaptive response to captivity. Instead, it is part of a wider repertoire of sexual behaviours exhibited in birds. Overall, our data are consistent with masturbation serving as an outlet for increased sexual arousal, a means of increasing reproductive success through postcopulatory selection, or both."
Masturbation in pet birds is natural and should not be punished (original news release)
The Evolution of Masturbation in Birds (open access)
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