Science News

As surprising as it seems, birds know how to use data from their social environment to maximize their chances of reproduction. Frédérique Dubois, a professor at the Université de Montréal Department of Biological Sciences, has already demonstrated that female Zebra Finches will favour a male chosen by another female. Dubois refers to this as imitation and the use of “public information” in choosing a mate.

When animals practice monogamy, we can generally tell right away. After all, couples like to hang out together, whether they're humans or squirrels or hawks.