Conservative head bobbing precopulatory behavior evidence of kinship between reptiles and birds. Apr. 22nd, 2009 at 1:49 AM. Jorma Jyrkkanen

Conservative head bobbing precopulatory behavior evidence of kinship between reptiles and birds. What do mallards, Canada geese and Lizards and Iguanas and Humans have in common? jjyrkkanen76@outlook.com

We have observed Mallard ducks frequently in courtship and copulation at Okanagan Lake waterfront, both during the breeding season and outside the breeding season. Typically, it starts with the male and female bobbing their heads at each other and this picks up in crescendo and they near each other and then he jumps on top, copulates and gets off and does a counterclockwise loop around the female while she bathes and preens. Then one day we had the good fortune to observe this head bobbing prior to copulation in Canada geese in 2009 and I immediately knew that this was ancient and conservative behavior regarding preparation for mating. I recalled seeing it in lizards and read more about this. Head bobbing is found in lizards and Iguana's as well and is present in both sexes at least in the Garden lizard, Calotes versicolor (B. N. Pandav et al. 2007). It is a behavioral component used to indicate a desire to mate and by being present in both sexes, is evidence of consensual mating behavior in reptiles and birds and if you think for a moment, humans ergo Mammals. Consensual sex is therefore very primitive having appeared in Reptilia for sure and possibly earlier in Amphibia or even fish though I haven't enough experience with these last two groups to be able to say definitively that this is the case. Try head bobbing at your mate and see how she responds and you will be amazed how conservative and widespread this behavior is. Clear body language meaning yes is imperative if you are a large carnivore or even a small one with sharp teeth. Misinterpretation of preparedness could well result in debilitating or even fatal repercussions. Consider the case of T-Rex. It is possible that the dinosaurs head bobbed to indicate preparedness for mating. It is present in our living Sauria. Because head bobbing is present in extant Diapsids, Archosaurs (Birds), and Lepidosaurs (Lizards) it was probably present in stem Diapsid dinosaurs.

T Rex probably had to ask perission to mount his lady by head bobbing and be very careful to get the right signal. Jormawankenobe Copyright 2009 Jorma Jyrkkanen. All rights reserved. Tags: behavior, conservative, head bobbing, mating