Authors
Christopher M Somers, Victoria A Kjoss, R Mark Brigham
Publication date
2007/6
Journal
The Wilson Journal of Ornithology
Volume
119
Issue
2
Pages
279-283
Publisher
The Wilson Ornithological Society
Description
We observed 56 forced copulation (FC) events in a breeding colony of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) in Saskatchewan, Canada during the 2005 nesting season. All FCs were directed at nestlings >21 days of age that were not continuously attended by an adult. The onset of FCs occurred in close synchrony with an unexpected late-season increase in adult copulation attempts. We suggest that FC directed at nestlings is not simply an aberrant and non-adaptive behavior. Rather, copulations with nestlings result from adult male pelicans being inappropriately stimulated to copulate with nestlings when actually seeking copulations with adult females.
Total citations
Scholar articles
CM Somers, VA Kjoss, RM Brigham - The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 2007