Homosexual Behavior in 2 males

Hello all,

I have not been on the forums in a very long time. A lot has changed since I was here last, a LOT of heartache.

I'm back because I have quite a head scratcher.

I recently adopted two male Indian ringnecks who are bonded. Evidently I did not realize just how "bonded" they are. Recently there has been a lot of hormonal behavior... specifically the one male (Beaker) is climbing on top of Kermit. Kermit, aside from making a strange growl noise, doesn't seem to mind. Or else he is so confused he does not understand what's going on. He doesn't really do much to make it stop, though. Every once in awhile he will push Beaker's foot off with his beak and makes a strange growl (or is it a purr?) sound.

I of course immediately contacted my vet for advice via email... she told me it's spring and yes they are going to be hormonal, and to just keep an eye out for aggression or any injuries - because then it's time to separate. I hate the thought of separating them because they lose their minds if they are more than 6 inches apart - it's like they're two magnets that have to be touching to be happy.

I have an appt with my vet to have Kermit looked over next week... I just want to make sure Beaker climbing on isn't causing any damage if you know what I mean.

I did do some googling of course, and found that homosexual behavior is indeed observed in the wild and captivity. I'm just wondering if anyone has any personal experience or insight they can give?

Thanks so much!

It is uncommon but certainly not unheard of to have two bonded males that engage in sexual activity. It happens more in the more prolific species like lovebirds but yes they do form bonds if allowed to and will engage ion those behaviors especially in this time of year. Also common is seeing birds rub themselves on certain place of the cage (masturbation) or wanting to mate with their human owner, which of course should be discouraged with no petting below the head.

I personally knew a large scale breeder of Amazons whp occasionally observed a same-sex partnership... if it seemed strong, she just left them together... even had a good market for those who wanted a non-breeding pair! It was 5-10% of all her birds, which is also the approximate mammalian figure I have read.

Well that makes me feel a lot better! Thank you for your replies. I really took a long look at them yesterday evening, and I believe not only does Kermit not mind, but he seems to initiate it. He bows his head down and squats to allow Beaker to climb on. If I manage to figure out how and have time, I will post a video here so I can get some opinions.

My two cockatoos enjoy same sex lovin'. They are both female, so it's a bit different.

It would seem to me, that if you're going to the Avian Vet with one (non-emergency) that you would take both. The up-charge is minor and both get their look-overs done at the same time. Plus, the issue of separation is not brought into the picture. Just My Two Cents!

I'd say it was pretty normal, especially for birds who have no other potential mates and who really have no idea what they're doing anyways (in the wild, parrots learn about sex/sexual behaviors from observations of other flock members. Most are 100% clueless in captivity).

I'm not sure how the mods would feel about me posting a link, but there was a documentary on youtube I saw a while ago about homosexuality in the animal kingdom. Apparently, it is a widespread and common behavior amongst a diverse range of animals. I see no reason parrots would be any different. Also, in my personal observation many parrots in captivity seem to prefer same sex owners (i.e. male bird prefers male humans, female bird prefers female humans). During breeding season, it seems to translate over to trying to make said human their 'mate'.

yep, in the animal kingdom things like gender don't matter too much when it comes to relations. There are a lot less hang ups about it all than we have